Photo: Ford
Oh boy, you know the die-hards are just going to love this. Ford has officially built more Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles this year than it has traditional Mustang sports cars. THE DEATH OF OUR CHILDHOODS IS NIGH.
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Production data released on Thursday shows that Ford has built 27,816 examples of the all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV through May. That surpasses the 26,089 Mustang coupes and convertibles built in the first five months of the year. Ford estimated in 2020 that production would be capped around 50,000 units for the initial run.
Sounds like we better start breaking out the shovels and burying the classic Mustang, because it’s obviously dead, having been killed by a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
It’s worth noting that the global semiconductor shortage is part of the reason why the Mustang Mach-E has eclipsed the gas-powered Mustang. Last month during the launch of the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning, Ford CEO Jim Farley said that the company is prioritizing new vehicles with high profit margins like the Mustang Mach-E and Bronco Sport.
“We have purposely protected our launches — Bronco, Bronco Sport, Mach-E, F-150,” Farley said. “If we can switch a module over to one of those launch vehicles, we have. We’re very protective of the launches because they are so important for our business.”
Mustang Mach-E paving the path to Ford’s all-electric future
The fact that Ford is building and selling a ton of Mustang Mach-Es is actually good news — despite your feelings about what it does to the Mustang’s legacy. Ford hopes that about 40 percent of its sales will be electric-only vehicles by 2030, and a popular vehicle that sells well is a great way to start in that direction.
“Mach-E has been much stronger than we expected, so we’ve totally run out of stock,” Farley said. He added that the waiting list to get a Mustang Mach-E is “months.”
Ford will follow up the Mustang Mach-E with the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning, which launches next spring. Thus far, 70,000 people have reserved an electric F-150, indicating that the move from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles is starting to gain traction.
Sales figures back that up thus far. In May, Ford sold 1,945 Mustang Mach-Es, bringing its year-to-date total to 10,510 delivered thus far. Global deliveries are also getting underway in major EV markets like Norway. And things will likely only keep heating up with the impending launch of the super-fast Mustang Mach-E GT and GT Performance Edition.
And just in case you think that somehow means the “real” Mustang is on its last legs, it’s up 1.5 percent through May at 29,710 sold and will likely repeat yet again as the world’s bestselling sports car.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.