Ford expected customer stampede after Tesla deal, tripled its stock of Mustang Mach-Es
Since the Tesla
charger announcement,
Ford tripled its
advertised inventory of the Mach-E electric SUV.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Ford tripled its advertised inventory of the Mach-E electric SUV to a total of 11,000 cars, according to S&P Global Mobility.
Experts say this is a sign Ford is optimistic about the Tesla partnership boosting demand.
Ford aggressively grew its stock of Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles after signing a groundbreaking deal with Elon Musk giving its customers access to Tesla charging stations, according to S&P Global Mobility.
Ford announced in May that its customers would have access to more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers starting next spring and pledged to add Tesla’s unique charging tech to its own EVs.
Over the following weeks, Ford tripled its advertised inventory of the Mach-E electric SUV to a total of 11,000 cars, according to an S&P Global Mobility analysis published this week.
Less than 3,000 Mach-Es have been selling each month this year, and the vehicle has only hit 5,000-units-sold one time since it went on sale in late 2020, per S&P Global Mobility. A Ford spokesperson did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
The beefed up inventory could be a sign that Ford’s feeling optimistic about the boost it will get from giving its customers access to Tesla’s longstanding advantage: its charging network.
Bolstering Mach-E inventory might be Ford’s way of “perhaps maximizing the marketing impact of its shared-charger arrangement with Tesla,” the S&P Global Mobility note said. “This could be a sign that Ford is truly entering the EV sales and share race.”
To be sure, Ford was already planning to ramp Mach-E production significantly this year, in an effort to reduce customer wait times and bring down pricing.
After Ford’s pledge with Tesla, other automakers and charging companies promised to follow suit. GM quickly responded with its own version of the partnership, as did Rivian, while several charging providers vowed to adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard port.
Tesla is now poised for a huge monetization opportunity with the collaborations, experts think. But the partnering automakers, including Ford, could especially stand to benefit.
Aside from the Supercharger network, public EV charging has generally left much to be desired, and often serves as a barrier to widespread adoption of electric vehicles. Some of the problems include charging reliability, pricing challenges, and generally sparse locations.
But Tesla’s vast charging network has largely served the company well, and Elon Musk plans to keep expanding it to make it more accessible to non-Tesla owners.
Getting other automakers to buy-in to adopting Tesla’s tech is an easy route, and could help encourage more widespread adoption of EVs.
