Ford Mustang Mach-E Sales Will Be Totally Different

Sep. 16, 2020 4:46 PM ET by Jay Traugott Electric Vehicles / 15 Comments

Ford's customer research department has come to a conclusion.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E hasn't even arrived in dealerships yet but the automaker isn't having any trouble selling them. In fact, initial sales have been so good that Ford decided to make a new batch of First Edition models available in order to satisfy demand. Not a bad start for the Blue Oval's first-ever EV from the ground-up. But the Mach-E has also proven something else to Ford: buyers prefer to shop entirely online. If it's worked for Tesla then why not Ford, right?

The Mustang Mach-E Club forum has referred to an article on EVBite stating that Ford recently had an internal presentation for employees which claimed EV buyers are six times more likely to purchase their vehicle online instead of via a traditional dealership method.

What's more, these buyers are described as being very tech-savvy and are already used to buying products online; purchasing a car isn't a big stretch for them. And due to the coronavirus pandemic, the number of online vehicle purchases has tripled in recent months. Combined with Tesla's proven online sales model, Ford now intends to enable Mach-E buyers to conduct their entire transaction online without having to step foot in a dealership, save for a test drive if they so choose.

Another huge benefit to this is that customers can completely avoid those annoying but legal dealership markups, an issue that regularly plagues in-demand new vehicles, such as the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon and the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.

Mach-E buyers will even be able to settle on a trade-in price along with choosing all of the vehicle features, financing, and extended warranty details. Full transparency will also show all additional fees and taxes. No games. No hassle.

For now, only the Mach-E will be available for 100 percent online purchases but we wouldn't be surprised to see this sales model extend to additional vehicles in Ford's lineup. The combined effect of the pandemic and Tesla's proven sales formula has spurred Ford to make some changes. Will other mainstream automakers follow suit?

The first Mach-E deliveries are due to get underway in December.