Way to be cheap, Ford

[ChuckA]

VW has to give away charging with the id.4 because that’s what THOSE buyers value. They don’t care about performance, because that car is over 8 seconds to 60mph. It’s a good car. I had one on order for my wife for a while. But it’s a boring car aimed at a different audience. Same w the motorcycle. Very few people are going to do 1000 mile road trips on an electric motorcycle. They need to generate buzz. More power to them. I’d rather Ford work through the year of back orders they have.

VW owns EA so they are able to give I’d.4 buyers free charging. My cable company is COMCAST so I get Peacock channel free. Sometimes that’s how it goes.

I do my charging at home . It would be nice if there was also an EVGO arrangement.

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[Mach1E]

You've basically made my point for me. It's so little money that it's a non-factor, yet Ford compares poorly on this point against a motorcycle that costs 40% as much, not to mention against actual competing cars.

Just dumb.

Per the anecdote above with the ID.4 owner, typical car buyers (ie non-EV enthusiasts) pay attention to this stuff.

Not that it matters, because this whole argument is dumb, but last year a bunch of Mach E owners got 500 kWh free.

 

[strangeengine]

Not that it matters, because this whole argument is dumb, but last year a bunch of Mach E owners got 500 kWh free.

Of course it's a dumb argument. WTF else are we going to do while Ford tries to figure out how to actually get us cars?

 

[generaltso]

Not that it matters, because this whole argument is dumb, but last year a bunch of Mach E owners got 500 kWh free.

Yup and I still haven’t used any of my free 500kWh.

 

[nhammerschmidt]

I think it would be cool if you could convert FordPass points into charging.

 

[RickMachE]

Our EA per kWh rate is $0.43, so 250 kWh = $107.50. I’m in CT.

It's $0.32 with Pass+. $80. $84 with the cost of Pass+.

 

[bostondan77]

I’m glad Ford doesn’t do “free level 3 charging”.
My wife is due to get a Taycan CT4 next month which comes with 3 years of free DC fast charging, I’m not sure whether she’s going to use much of that since too much DC charging is not good for the battery long term, 120k car, risking damaging the battery to save a few bucks doesn’t make sense. I’m sure all the people that lease their cars will have no problem DC fast charging all the time. And as already stated, nothing is free- it’s added to price of the car. Go Ford!

 

[dtbaker61]

As a newbie, you weren't around in the early days when Ford actually surveyed the community to see which people would prefer, a price reduction or more free charging. Most folks here on the Forum voted for lower cost. Realistically, your subject line is misleading: the customers were being cheap and Ford obliged.

Ford's compromise was enough free charging to encourage people to try Plug & Charge but a lower final cost.

WIth 95% of all charging being done at home, I think Ford acted wisely.

If you want to read the history, use your search function. It's all here on the Forum.

I have yet to use any of the original free charging from Ford....

I charge 99% at home,
twice on a road trip to Colorado, in Alamosa and Del Norte on ChargePoint
and now once while skiing in TAOS (for free!) on their non-networked chargers

 

[ChuckA]

It's $0.32 with Pass+. $80. $84 with the cost of Pass+.

I charge at home and would never get Pass+. But, whether it $108 or $80, it’s still peanuts against a $60-$80k purchase. If a manufacturer is using “free charging” as a selling point, their car must really suck.

 

[RickMachE]

I charge at home and would never get Pass+. But, whether it $108 or $80, it’s still peanuts against a $60-$80k purchase. If a manufacturer is using “free charging” as a selling point, their car must really suck.

Except that the $4 it costs to sign up is saved in the first or second charge, so if you go on a trip and don't sign up for Pass+ (which you can then cancel and it cancels in 30 days), you're literally burning money for no reason.

 

[jonkMACHE]

Don't get me wrong - I enjoy a patronizing response as much as the next person, but the reality is the LiveWire costs 40% as much as the GTPE I ordered but comes with 2x the free charging.

Ford is being cheap, no matter how they justified it.

- Mark

Dude, you're comparing a motorcycle to an SUV. By the way, $30k for a bike is pretty darn pricy.

 

[Cm12]

You've basically made my point for me. It's so little money that it's a non-factor, yet Ford compares poorly on this point against a motorcycle that costs 40% as much, not to mention against actual competing cars.

Just dumb.

Per the anecdote above with the ID.4 owner, typical car buyers (ie non-EV enthusiasts) pay attention to this stuff.

It would be really dumb for Ford to give EVERYONE a ton of “free” charging, regardless of whether they want it. Ford would be paying EA and many people may not ever get it use it. It’s basically Ford giving out a gift card to a store that their buyers may not want to go to. EVs are subject to high ADMs and people wait 9+ months on their orders - you really think the deal breaker is a few hundred bucks of DCFC they may not even use?

 

[tuminatr]

Don't get me wrong - I enjoy a patronizing response as much as the next person, but the reality is the LiveWire costs 40% as much as the GTPE I ordered but comes with 2x the free charging.

Ford is being cheap, no matter how they justified it.

- Mark

Nothing is actually free, you are paying for it. I was intrigued and went on BMW's website and built an iX one comparable equipt to my MME Premium is 95K. I can buy a lot of charging for $40,000

 

[JohnnyForensic]

I don’t know…in the grand scheme of things, I wonder why this is such an issue. You’re talking about a $55-$75,000 car, and people are getting actually upset by not having $50-$100 of free charging over the life of it? I mean, is it nice? Sure, but if you can afford a car of this price, then surely $50 once in a while isn’t going to break you, especially with the daily savings you get charging at home vs gasoline.

I don’t know. This just sounds like Karenism running a little wild. I thought the free 250 kWh was a nice bonus/gift, but I think I’m probably in the majority of people who see it as just that. I don’t expect three years of free gasoline with my ICE vehicles, so why should I expect three years of free electricity? It just doesn’t make sense to me.

 

[DevSecOps]

Golly ... Everyone is so triggered!

I think everyone is saying the same thing, but they can't put on their big boy pants and get around the "cheap" statement.

From a marketing perspective, which I think is the OPs argument, it is silly for Ford to not offer more complimentary charging BECAUSE it's so cheap and it would just make people feel good. I would agree that it would have probably been a good selling point. I compare it to that stupid VIN engraving or anything else that a sales person "sells" you to make you feel warm and fuzzy. To some people it works.

The problem is that everyone here is triggered over the insult or insinuation that Ford is "cheap". I agree that we don't need free charging, and that it shouldn't be a qualifier for purchasing a car. I generally don't agree with any handouts period.

So take a deep breath and relax... It won't break the bank either way.

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