Ford defends slow sales of Mustang Mach-E

FORD Australia has defended the pricing and position of its Mustang Mach-E electric SUV at a media event in Melbourne this week, saying the model is well-placed to meet company sales targets – which it declined to disclose – in its segment.

Vying in the fiercely competitive large SUV over $80K segment, the Mustang Mach-E has failed to sell in substantial numbers since its introduction to the market in late 2023.

Sales of the model are down 36.4 per cent on the same time last year, despite several price adjustments to the outgoing range.

Speaking at the ASEAN launch of the MY25 Mustang Mach-E in Melbourne, Ford Australia marketing director Ambrose Henderson told media that although sales of the model were behind the majority of segment competitors, they were in line with the importer’s expectations.

“There are a couple of things to note (about sales) … The first is that the market is immensely competitive. Arguably, the Australian automotive market is the most competitive in the world in terms of the number of entries and the fierceness of the competition here for us,” he explained.

“We think the updates we have made (to the Mustang Mach-E) in terms of design, and the technology, and driving dynamics will resonate with our customers and get them really excited about the product moving forward.

“And the last thing is that (the Mustang Mach-E) is about us being authentic to what we’re strong in and what we are, and what we represent. There are a lot of aerodynamically designed white boxes on the road that are EVs, and that’s not us.

“We wanted to deliver something (in the Mustang Mach-E) that was authentically Ford, and to really leverage off what is a global icon (in the Mustang).

“We wanted to give our customers an electric version that delivers the same excitement, the same emotion, the same thrill of the drive, and the same sort of design – which you pretty much can’t get on any other mainstream SUV in the market.”

While Mr Ambrose refused to disclose sales forecasts for the updated Mustang Mach-E, he said he believed the adjusted pricing for the model is “positioned correctly” to match Ford’s sales expectations.

He said it was expected the sales split between Select, Premium, and GT grades would remain close to the even split demonstrated to date.

“There has been a pretty even split between the three series … I expect that to continue. We have been pretty deliberate in terms of what each of those series (variants) represents,” he added.

“But we will not offer any future sales predications.”

Ford Australia has sold just 389 copies of the Mustang Mach-E to the end of October, giving it a 1.8 per cent share of the segment in which it competes, well behind the likes of the much pricier Mercedes-Benz EQE with 940 unit sales across the period, and the ubiquitous Tesla Model Y with 17,972 YTD sales.

The sales performance of the Mustang Mach-E raises questions around Ford Australia’s ability to meet its New Vehicle Efficiency Standards (NVES) obligations, the importer’s diesel-heavy sales disproportionately stacked against those of its more efficient and electrified models.

“We support NVES in Australia, and what we’d encourage is more conversation about what it takes for electrification adoption, particularly beyond passenger cars, (to work here),” added Mr Henderson.

“There really needs to be a broader discussion on the infrastructure required in a country like ours … and we will continue to engage with industry and also government as it relates to that.

“There also has to be customer demand for it.

“We consider all of these factors, and more, when we’re making decisions about our product line-up.

“Yes, we are known for particularly larger diesel vehicles and iconic sportscars that are petrol vehicles, but we also have a broad range of electric options.

“We now have a BEV Transit Custom and PHEV Transit Custom, and the larger BEV Transit as well – and just a few months ago we launched our PHEV Ranger as well.

“So, we have a broad range of electrification options for customers to choose from, and that’s our strategy – to give customers the choice so they can choose a vehicle that best suits their particular application.

“Over time, you will see increasing numbers of transition technologies in the EV space, as those (NVES) regulations increase and as customer demand and acceptance of those technologies grow.”

2025 Ford Australia YTD sales by primary motive power type*:

*Figures supplied courtesy of the FCAI.