Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is slashing prices and upping production of its Mach-E electric vehicle in a move that echoes a major competitor in the space: Tesla.
The Detroit automakers announced plans Monday to lower the price of Mach-E models by an average of $4,500 (between $600 and $5,900, depending on the model). That comes after Tesla announced price cuts of up to $13,000 on its comparable Model Y earlier this month.
The Mach-E will range from about $46,000 to $64,000, compared to a range of $53,000 to $57,000 for the Model Y.
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In turn, production of the Mach-E will ramp up, according to the chief customer officer of Ford’s electric vehicle business, Marin Gjaja. Ford is upgrading a manufacturing plant in Mexico in order to help turbocharge production from 78,000 to 130,000 units per year.
Ford is the second-best seller of EVs in the US, behind Tesla.
Notably, not every Mach-E model will be profitable on a per-unit basis following the price cuts, Gjaja acknowledged in a media briefing. The plan instead is to balance smaller profits with cost savings on additional production and lower commodity costs.
“We are responding to changes in the marketplace,” Gjaja said at the briefing. “As we look and want to stay competitive in the marketplace, we’re having to respond.”
He continued, “We are not going to cede ground to anyone,” Gjaja said. “We are producing more EVs to reduce customer wait times, offering competitive pricing and working to create an ownership experience that is second to none,
Ford shares traded more than 2% lower Monday morning.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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