Thanks to the Mach E Club we got some additional information from a forum member who got a chance to ask some questions to Jason Mase who oversees Ford Electrification Marketing Strategy.
One of the bigger takeaways from the short interview will be that the Mustang Mach E will not make its official debut in the United States, but instead in Europe, namely in a country like Norway. If you have been following EV launches that should not be too surprising of news as it has been a trend for automakers to open reservations or deliveries to the EV loving country of Norway.
Usually in those cases however the companies releasing the cars are also European, so it doesn’t seem as weird for an American car company debuting its car first in a different continent. However, the wait should not be too long for those in America as Ford is still planning to start deliveries of the First Edition version by the end of this year.
One other interesting takeaway is that Ford will be making efforts to have its first allocation of deliveries to all 50 states. It has been relatively common for automakers to release their electric or plug-in cars in a limited amount of states such as California and Massachusetts. However, it seems that Ford will be trying to spread the Mach E out and make it available to as a wide amount of people as possible. Kudos to Ford for that.
Here are some of the questions asked, you can click over to see the full interview.
Q:”Is there a blind to close the panoramic roof”
A: No. It’s a uv protected glass that doesn’t yet UV rays through. Ford is confident it will not heat up the cabin. Jason said they are well aware that keeping heat OUT of an EV is critical to overall performance
Q: Are there foglights
A: There are not.
Q: Any swag?
A: Not yet. They are talking with their licensing team right now and should have info in Q1. I asked if we could get some… he said he couldn’t commit to that yet. But I’ll talk to the PR folks and see if we can get some.
Q: Any changes planned on the production model, like better seats?
No: No. They’re pleased with the response they’ve had so far from potential customers.
Q: Will more units go to Europe
A: Deliveries will start in Europe first. (Did we know this already). This is due to new regulations like in California, where brands will be prevented from selling cars unless they sell zero emissions models. So to meet those regulations, countries like Norway will be first. After that, volume of models will be determined based on demand.
Q: What deliveries will take place in Q4? Just the First Edition?
A: First Edition will be delivered in Q4 as well as some Premium, Select, and Calif Route 1 models. He also added that all 50 states will get Q4 deliveries, regardless of the reservation number. They want to make sure that it’s not just a bunch of models all getting shipped to California.
Q: When exactly will the GT model be delivered?
A: Jason wouldn’t commit to an EXACT number, but did say it would be late Spring or early Summer.
Q: Will orders and deposits placed in spring be refundable if we are unhappy with test drive in fall?
A: While the original deposit is with Ford, once an order has been filled out, it’s with a dealer. So it will be up to the dealer to decide.
Q: If current first edition reservation orders back out, will they be opened again to current reservation holders?
A: Yes, though he didn’t provide details on how.
Q: Will Ford do anything to keep dealers from adding mark-ups for reservation holders?
A: Ford doesn’t set pricing, so ultimately it’s up to dealers.
Q. What exactly do the reservations represent? Do reservation holders get some priority or “lock in” for orders?
A: Yes, reservations lock in your place in line. Based on reservation number. These people will be contacted (soon?) to build their specific model. At that time, anyone who has pre-ordered a trim can select a different one (except the First Edition versions as they are sold out). Jason also said that more options than originally stated would be available to add on at that time!
