Earlier this year, just as the coronavirus was starting to wreak havoc on manufacturers' production plans, we reported that Ford's goal of beginning deliveries for its Mustang Mach-E this year was in jeopardy. But according to EV Bite, it looks as though Ford should just about meet its own deadline, with the first Mach-Es arriving at dealers in December. This may be later in Q4 than Ford had anticipated, but it's better than pushing things into the new year.

Apparently, Ford dealerships have been prompted to order Mustang Mach-E FCTP (Ford Courtesy Transportation Program) units with a delivery date planned for the final month of the year.

FCTP vehicles are those intended for loaner and test drive purposes; they're more commonly referred to as demo models. Dealerships who want to sell Ford EVs in the future must adhere to a set of guidelines, one of these being that the initial Mach-E under the FCTP program must cover four months or 4,000 miles. With the arrival of these demo models, consumers can potentially save a lot of money on a new Mach-E, although it will have some mileage under its belt.

It's worth noting that the arrival of the FCTP vehicles may not coincide with customer deliveries, but we assume that these will follow shortly after production gets underway in the middle of November. Still, this early allocation of Mach-Es will give customers a chance to at least get behind the wheel and experience the EV for themselves.

With its sexy styling and a best 0-60 mph sprint time of under 3.5 seconds in the top model, the Mach-E is expected to be the toughest challenger Tesla has faced so far. That said, there's also the likely Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron to compete with, so competition in this segment will be as heated as it has ever been.

The Ford has another trick up its sleeve, though; it will benefit from new discounts along with federal tax credits that are no longer applicable to new Teslas, all of which make it even more tempting. Get ready to start spotting the Ford EV on the road from December.