Mach-E March 2024 & Q1 Results: 77% Increase YTD / 438% Increase YoY for March

[phil]

It proves pricing matters.

I'm pretty sure that was proven centuries ago.

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[ArthurDOB]

I don’t think it’s nefarious. They just kinda suck at it (EV pricing).

Huge price swings are screwing up the market for both used and new cars.

We are used to rebates and discounts on leftover models.

Not $20,000-$50,000 swings like Tesla did last year and Ford is doing now.

Existing owners get crushed on resale values and get gun shy on buying another one.

New buyers worry about resale and “if they should wait” for more price drops.

Creates chaos and while it moves some models short term, can do some long term damage to future sales. Tesla is seeing the impact already from what they did a year ago.

The price drops are hard to see, for sure, but sometimes circumstances dictate when you have to buy.

My son turned 16 last May and I had always planned to get a new car at that time. As May '23 approached, I had decided by then that wanted a Mach-E, so I ordered the day after Thanksgiving 2022 as it was (and turned out to be) a 6-month wait for delivery.

Between that time and delivery, there were two price drops (I was able to take advantage of one of them) and auto loan interest rates increased. There was no way for me to put the purchase off until later, so I had to suck it up. Them's the breaks, as they say.

Of course, I wish I had paid a lower price and got a lower interest rate, but at least I can refinance the latter. Complaining gets me nothing but stress, so I move on.

 

[evfinder]

Just to add the anecdotal 'me too', I'll see at least one other when I'm out and about during the day.

I can't go to an intersection without seeing a Tesla at one of the other corners, but Mach-Es had been spotted less frequently, until the past few months.

Same here, not long ago I was lucky if I saw one other Mach-e per week, now I seem to see two or three others daily. To be fair though, I have been driving a little more recently.

 

[Mach1E]

The price drops are hard to see, for sure, but sometimes circumstances dictate when you have to buy.

My son turned 16 last May and I had always planned to get a new car at that time. As May '23 approached, I had decided by then that wanted a Mach-E, so I ordered the day after Thanksgiving 2022 as it was (and turned out to be) a 6-month wait for delivery.

Between that time and delivery, there were two price drops (I was able to take advantage of one of them) and auto loan interest rates increased. There was no way for me to put the purchase off until later, so I had to suck it up. Them's the breaks, as they say.

Of course, I wish I had paid a lower price and got a lower interest rate, but at least I can refinance the latter. Complaining gets me nothing but stress, so I move on.

Even in your situation you may have needed another car, but nothing said you had to buy a new Mach E at the time.

Someone going through the same situation in 2024 can order a new 24, buy a new 23 off the lot, or pick up a used 2021-2023. Lots of options if you want a Mach E.

Options were much more limited when you bought. You could pay a huge price for a used one, or wait 6 months and pay the same or less.

 

[Triggerhappy007]

Does sales up mean that they are making money or that they're just moving through their existing inventory due to lower pricing ?

Ford said they were losing money before the price cuts. So they're just moving old inventory.

 

[ArthurDOB]

Even in your situation you may have needed another car, but nothing said you had to buy a new Mach E at the time.

Someone going through the same situation in 2024 can order a new 24, buy a new 23 off the lot, or pick up a used 2021-2023. Lots of options if you want a Mach E.

Options were much more limited when you bought. You could pay a huge price for a used one, or wait 6 months and pay the same or less.

Granted. I could have chosen a different vehicle, but human factors were in play as well. I settled the last time I bought a car and ended up regretting doing it, so I did not want to do that again. I was intent on a new Mach-E. That's why I don't complain about how it all played out.

Economics is the "dismal science" because of the unpredictable nature of human behavior. If it was always about strict numbers, it would be easy to make a purely financial decision. It's those powerful human factors that get in the way and are often left out of the equation when evaluating the economic decision-making of others.

 

[ElectronRider]

This increase in sales is not surprising, but what is surprising is the magnitude of it, which might hint that people are taking this car over the Model Y. Tesla is likely to sweat bullets trying to get its Model Y inventory sold; they have a huge oversupply right now based on latest figures.

 

[Mach Len E]

This increase in sales is not surprising, but what is surprising is the magnitude of it, which might hint that people are taking this car over the Model Y. Tesla is likely to sweat bullets trying to get its Model Y inventory sold; they have a huge oversupply right now based on latest figures.

Relative to gross Tesla Y numbers, I don’t think Elon should be worried. I am a serial first adopter but an EV is a bit more of a commitment than a video card or camcorder. I was not in the market for an EV until I found out the Mach E was not a Tesla Y but a competitor and not a Mustang ICE equivalent either. Next up was a Corolla hatchback hybrid for my use case. Happy with the purchase and now dealing with the impossible use case for a vehicle in Central to Northern Alberta Canada. It’s just rough going for anything, my Mach E has been baptized by highway rock damage (on front louver area) but I did manage to keep the windshield through one winter with repair kits. Someone I used to work with called a large windshield star an ‘Alberta Kiss’.

 

[ElectronRider]

It'll be interesting to watch. I don't think Elon is worried; but TSLA shareholders might be. The PE is getting mighty hard to justify at these levels.

 

[TheSteelRider]

Stop with the common-sense about basic supply vs. demand and how consumers factor in total cost into buying decisions! The FUD says nobody wants EVs at any price, and car makers are all going to go out of business and the world will end in fire an brimstone because Greta Thunberg's brain will be downloaded into an all-powerful AI and will murder all humans!

 

[nvabill]

It proves pricing matters.

Bronco sales have cratered along with Wrangler sales as Ford has not cut prices and while dealers are offering $5K-$8K discounts... that's still not enough to prevent a 25% sales decline.

On the flipside... look at the spike in sales with the cheaper Ford vehicles. Folks are buying (interest rate stuff is BS)... but they are choosing more affordable OR better-value vehicles. Expedition, Tellurides, Grand Highlander are all $50K+ but sell ell.

Negative there Ghostrider, while Bronco sales are down the Wrangler is not.

 

[nvabill]

The previous year's models of any vehicle always experience a drop in price and interest rate to clear the way for the next year's models. I'm baffled as to why this seems like a surprise or some nefarious plot to anyone.

I don't know, maybe because Ford started the New Year with a year's worth of '23 Mach E inventory, traditionally this is not the norm to still have such a high inventory of last year's models still on the lots.

 

[nvabill]

Massive discounts will do that, go figure.

They should have done it sooner like Tesla did a year ago and we wouldn’t have so many 2023s still.

More is better, but at 3,000 sold per month….. there are still over 10,000 still in inventory. It’ll be July before they get rid of them all!

And, correct me if I am wrong but Ford was just starting to build some inventory on dealer lots in Q1 for 2023, for the last quarter of 2022 the Mach E was still pretty scarce.

 

[ArthurDOB]

I don't know, maybe because Ford started the New Year with a year's worth of '23 Mach E inventory, traditionally this is not the norm to still have such a high inventory of last year's models still on the lots.

Maybe...

 

[Mach1E]

Relative to gross Tesla Y numbers, I don’t think Elon should be worried. I am a serial first adopter but an EV is a bit more of a commitment than a video card or camcorder. I was not in the market for an EV until I found out the Mach E was not a Tesla Y but a competitor and not a Mustang ICE equivalent either. Next up was a Corolla hatchback hybrid for my use case. Happy with the purchase and now dealing with the impossible use case for a vehicle in Central to Northern Alberta Canada. It’s just rough going for anything, my Mach E has been baptized by highway rock damage (on front louver area) but I did manage to keep the windshield through one winter with repair kits. Someone I used to work with called a large windshield star an ‘Alberta Kiss’.

Keep in mind though, in terms of relative numbers it isn’t the Model Y vs the Mach E.

It’s the Model Y vs every other midsize BEV crossover on the market. And right now the Model Y is losing market share and sales numbers.

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