Extended Range battery shortage?

pb3

Well-Known Member
First Name
Phil
Joined
Jun 24, 2020
Threads
6
Messages
116
Reaction score
202
Location
California Central Coast
Vehicles
Lincoln MKX, Toyota 4Runner, MME Premium AWD ER (order accepted!)
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
I've been chasing my dealer to find out why others with higher/later reservation numbers than mine are getting their cars scheduled for production and I'm not.

The dealer contacted me today to say that Ford told them there was a shortage of extended range batteries for California and it's unlikely that my car (Premium AWD extended range) will be scheduled for production before March 2021. ☹

I'm perplexed. Does this mean there really is a shortage and Ford is trying to spread too little butter over too much bread. E.g., non domestic orders are being slotted in now and there never really was any intent for "first come, first serve"?

I can understand that Canada and Europe want their cars too, which is completely fair.

What's interesting is that my dealer says Ford has not exactly covered themselves with glory with regards to communications, nor have they been straightforward and forthcoming regarding the meaning (or more accurately not) of the reservation and ordering process. Something that's been said on this forum for months now.
Sponsored

 

dbsb3233

Well-Known Member
First Name
TimCO
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Threads
54
Messages
9,298
Reaction score
10,814
Location
Colorado, USA
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach-E FE, 2023 Bronco Sport OB
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
I've been chasing my dealer to find out why others with higher/later reservation numbers than mine are getting their cars scheduled for production and I'm not.

The dealer contacted me today to say that Ford told them there was a shortage of extended range batteries for California and it's unlikely that my car (Premium AWD extended range) will be scheduled for production before March 2021. ☹

I'm perplexed. Does this mean there really is a shortage and Ford is trying to spread too little butter over too much bread. E.g., non domestic orders are being slotted in now and there never really was any intent for "first come, first serve"?

I can understand that Canada and Europe want their cars too, which is completely fair.

What's interesting is that my dealer says Ford has not exactly covered themselves with glory with regards to communications, nor have they been straightforward and forthcoming regarding the meaning (or more accurately not) of the reservation and ordering process. Something that's been said on this forum for months now.
That excuse makes no sense. California (or any other state) has no bearing on the batteries. The car is made in Mexico. Even if there were a shortage of batteries (not true from everything else we've heard), the customer's state would have no relevance to it anyway.

Your dealer is right that communication has been rather poor though.

When did you first reserve your Mach-E?
 

JellyBelly

Well-Known Member
First Name
Kris
Joined
Jun 27, 2020
Threads
14
Messages
2,481
Reaction score
1,937
Location
San Diego
Vehicles
MME RR FE
Country flag
I've been chasing my dealer to find out why others with higher/later reservation numbers than mine are getting their cars scheduled for production and I'm not.

The dealer contacted me today to say that Ford told them there was a shortage of extended range batteries for California and it's unlikely that my car (Premium AWD extended range) will be scheduled for production before March 2021. ☹

I'm perplexed. Does this mean there really is a shortage and Ford is trying to spread too little butter over too much bread. E.g., non domestic orders are being slotted in now and there never really was any intent for "first come, first serve"?

I can understand that Canada and Europe want their cars too, which is completely fair.

What's interesting is that my dealer says Ford has not exactly covered themselves with glory with regards to communications, nor have they been straightforward and forthcoming regarding the meaning (or more accurately not) of the reservation and ordering process. Something that's been said on this forum for months now.
Firstly - dealer may be right about shortage if he has inside info or just BS speculating.

Quite a few ER Premiums have been scheduled including very late orders (compared to early reservations) - so this does not make sense if the ER batteries are in short supply. Why would Ford schedule ER MMEs ordered late and ignore early reservations.

When is your reservation made? March may be right if the order was placed late but if its an early enough order then there might be some other reasons.
 
OP
OP
pb3

pb3

Well-Known Member
First Name
Phil
Joined
Jun 24, 2020
Threads
6
Messages
116
Reaction score
202
Location
California Central Coast
Vehicles
Lincoln MKX, Toyota 4Runner, MME Premium AWD ER (order accepted!)
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
That excuse makes no sense.
I thought that it sniffed funny. Reservation was 1/8/2020 and order conversion was 6/24/2020. I know I'm not at the head of the queue, but others with later dates/higher reservations are getting scheduled. March '21 production date makes no sense.
 


JellyBelly

Well-Known Member
First Name
Kris
Joined
Jun 27, 2020
Threads
14
Messages
2,481
Reaction score
1,937
Location
San Diego
Vehicles
MME RR FE
Country flag
That's my question too with seemingly no answer.
You reservation is from January - so one of the earlier reservations compared to orders placed brand new in say July or August. So surprised that it is March? And it looks like you ordered when orders opened in June. So if you are not yet scheduled something else might be an issue - not ER battery supply. Perhaps a call to Ford helpline might be of some help? Not sure but could be worth a try. I feel for you honestly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pb3

dbsb3233

Well-Known Member
First Name
TimCO
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Threads
54
Messages
9,298
Reaction score
10,814
Location
Colorado, USA
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach-E FE, 2023 Bronco Sport OB
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
I thought that it sniffed funny. Reservation was 1/8/2020 and order conversion was 6/24/2020. I know I'm not at the head of the queue, but others with later dates/higher reservations are getting scheduled. March '21 production date makes no sense.
Hard to tell with a January reservation. Tons got reserved in Nov/Dec. You may have fallen behind a bunch of Europe orders.
 

dbsb3233

Well-Known Member
First Name
TimCO
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Threads
54
Messages
9,298
Reaction score
10,814
Location
Colorado, USA
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach-E FE, 2023 Bronco Sport OB
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
You reservation is from January - so one of the earlier reservations compared to orders placed brand new in say July or August. So surprised that it is March? And it looks like you ordered when orders opened in June. So if you are not yet scheduled something else might be an issue - not ER battery supply. Perhaps a call to Ford helpline might be of some help? Not sure but could be worth a try. I feel for you honestly.
I'm not sure order date matters (if it was preceded by a reservation). Although admittedly the build dates don't seem to follow reservation date entirely either.
 

Kamuelaflyer

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2020
Threads
9
Messages
7,925
Reaction score
15,848
Location
Hawaii
Vehicles
2021 Premium Infinite Blue. ER AWD. 2020 Raptor
Country flag
The production scheduling has all sorts of priorities which can shift scheduling. The only one in your dealers control is to change your order priority code to a higher priority number.

There are numerous items out of our control as well. One is the rather hefty fines about to be healed on auto manufacturers by the European Union. Every MME Ford sells there will help reduce their liability. It’s also the largest market in the First World, even without the presence of the U.K. So there will be some prioritization to the EU. Pre pandemic they were also slated for 60% of the MME production.

The scheduling makes no sense to us mere mortals. I’d love to see a real rundown on the parameters used in determining the build schedule, but that will never happen.

Hopefully you have a build scheduled or get one soon.
 
OP
OP
pb3

pb3

Well-Known Member
First Name
Phil
Joined
Jun 24, 2020
Threads
6
Messages
116
Reaction score
202
Location
California Central Coast
Vehicles
Lincoln MKX, Toyota 4Runner, MME Premium AWD ER (order accepted!)
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
Perhaps a call to Ford helpline might be of some help? Not sure but could be worth a try.
Thank you for your suggestion. At this stage, the Mach E helpline (Ford Marketing) can't give any insight and tells me to contact my dealer because I ordered through them instead of online.

I appreciate your help.
 

dbsb3233

Well-Known Member
First Name
TimCO
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Threads
54
Messages
9,298
Reaction score
10,814
Location
Colorado, USA
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach-E FE, 2023 Bronco Sport OB
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
There are numerous items out of our control as well. One is the rather hefty fines about to be healed on auto manufacturers by the European Union. Every MME Ford sells there will help reduce their liability. It’s also the largest market in the First World, even without the presence of the U.K. So there will be some prioritization to the EU. Pre pandemic they were also slated for 60% of the MME production.
I haven't seen anything suggesting that the fines are month-based or quarter-based though, only for the year. In which case it really wouldn't matter, once COVID knocked all Europe deliveries into 2021.

But they still want to keep those customers happy so they don't cancel and jump ship to an ID4 or something. So I'm sure they didn't want to delay Europe too long. They put the first NA wave ahead of Europe following the COVID reshuffle, but probably didn't slot them too far down.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pb3

dbsb3233

Well-Known Member
First Name
TimCO
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Threads
54
Messages
9,298
Reaction score
10,814
Location
Colorado, USA
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach-E FE, 2023 Bronco Sport OB
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
I thought that it sniffed funny. Reservation was 1/8/2020 and order conversion was 6/24/2020. I know I'm not at the head of the queue, but others with later dates/higher reservations are getting scheduled. March '21 production date makes no sense.
I went and looked at the forum order database and something struck me as odd. You're the only one with a 6/24 order date while all the others start 6/27 (like 50 of them). Are you sure that's right? What confirmation do you have that your dealer really placed the order then (or at all)? I'm assuming from those dates that orders actually opened on the 27th, making the 24th either a typo or a mistake. Or something your dealer told you wrong. Or something your dealer screwed up and is trying to cover for (like finding they screwed up and placed the order months later when they realized it.)

Something just doesn't seem right.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pb3
OP
OP
pb3

pb3

Well-Known Member
First Name
Phil
Joined
Jun 24, 2020
Threads
6
Messages
116
Reaction score
202
Location
California Central Coast
Vehicles
Lincoln MKX, Toyota 4Runner, MME Premium AWD ER (order accepted!)
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
....
You're the only one with a 6/24 order date while all the others start 6/27 (like 50 of them). Are you sure that's right? What confirmation do you have that your dealer really placed the order then (or at all)?
...

Something just doesn't seem right.
It's legit. I have a screenshot from WBDO with the 6/24 date and my order number 0224 on it. As I recall, dealers were able to get orders in early that week with the general web-based order conversion starting about a week later (but I may recall incorrectly). My dealer swears that my reservation number correlates with the order number, but I've never seen any visual evidence of that. However, the Mach E helpline says that the two both show up under my name.

I did change my order from Extended RWD. When Ford dropped the Mach E price, I took my "savings" and opted for AWD instead. However, the 6/24 order date continues to be displayed against my order number.

Who knows. "Mango only pawn in game of life."


Ford Mustang Mach-E Extended Range battery shortage? 1607146233596
 

Shayne

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2020
Threads
18
Messages
3,341
Reaction score
2,489
Location
Northern Ontario Canada
Vehicles
2021 MME4x Prem
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
That's my question too with seemingly no answer.
My repeated guess as to why it is not first come, first serve.

Dealers needed to invest in ev certification and as such, in return, Ford promised them some early sales inventory of their first LR EV to recoup some of the costs associated with the certification. The number of vehicles promised to each dealer that certified I have no idea.

I wonder how many other MME's your dealer has on order and how you were prioritized compared to others within your dealership? The costumers of dealers that certified and do not have many orders, or just one order, may be place above a costumer who ordered earlier but their dealer has 10 or so on order and their deal with ford was for 8 (just picking numbers)? It may be a dealer supply issue and Ford is just fulfilling their agreement to all dealers first? Fair to the dealers but obviously not for you :(.
Sponsored

 
  • Like
Reactions: pb3
 




Top