This is due to rising production costs
The Mach-E is no longer profitable for the automaker
Ford is likely to increase the price of its upcoming EVs
Ford has announced that rising production costs now make the Mustang Mach-E $25,000 more expensive to build than an equivalent Edge.
This means that the electric SUV is no longer profitable for its manufacturer, who is losing money on every unit sold.
This was not the case when the Mach-E was introduced but since then, prices for materials, especially lithium, have soared and reached record-high levels.
In order to limit the damages to its bottom line, Ford increased the price of the Mach-E by a couple of thousands for 2022, and more price hikes are to be expected in the future.
In addition, the company’s engineers are currently working to remove costs from the vehicle in order to save money in other areas to offset the price of the battery, which means that upcoming versions of the Mach-E might be lacking some of the features found on the current model.
Ford also warns that the current situation will lead to changes in its strategy for future electric models, which are likely to be more expensive and less technically advanced than expected.
Experts predict the price of lithium will drop back down to normal levels in the next few years when the new mining operations that are being created come online, which will make affordable EVs profitable again.
In the meantime, the company says that its models equipped with combustion engines make up for the lost profits due to their larger margins, notably the new Bronco and the ever-popular F-series.
This is not a problem for now, but with the industry moving towards a complete replacement of gasoline vehicles with EVs, Ford will need its electric models to make a profit on their own in the next few years.
