Ford is building more Mustang Mach-E than ever before in 2023, saying in January it was going to “significantly increase production” of the electric SUV this year. That increase in production appears to be coming at a bad time as demand for the Mach-E appears to be shrinking. The demand problems aren’t limited to the Mach-E, as Ford’s other consumer EV, the F-150 Lightning, is also experiencing similar issues.
According to data from the analytics firm Cloud Theory, Ford dealers sold just 27.7% of their Mach-E inventory within 30 days of receiving them during the second quarter of the year. This is a significant drop from the 86.4% “turn rate” dealers reported in the same period last year. (via Business Insider)
These figures are supported by Ford’s own Q2 report, which showed sales of the Mach-E dropped by 21% year-over-year (YoY), from 10,941 in Q2 2022 to 8,633 in Q2 2023.
While sales of the Mach-E dipped, deliveries of the Lightning actually increased in Q2 2023, but dealers are experiencing a similar turn rate for the electric pickup, sitting at just 39.3%. That is also down considerably from 70% in Q2 last year.
This low turn rate is resulting in dealers seeing their lots filling up with Ford EVs that no one wants to buy. According to industry insider @CarDealershipGuy on Twitter, some dealers are no longer accepting Mach-E inventory allocated to them from Ford. One dealer even noted having two Mach-Es sitting in their lot unsold for over 6 months.
As for the Lightning, dealers are reporting that about 50% of customers are not following through on their reservations.
Ford is planning to ramp production for the Mach-E to 210,000 units per year and the Lightning to 150,000 units per year by the end of 2023. The automaker sold just over 25,000 EVs in the US in the first half of the year. Based on that and the numbers above, a lot of EV inventory will be sitting in dealer lots unsold, unless something dramatic happens in the second half of the year.
