It has been more than three years that the Israeli market has been waiting for the Mustang Mach E, Ford's first electric crossover that was well received in the United States.
However, at the end of the repeated postponements, there is a good chance that we will receive a more attractive product than the one that has been offered so far and that will also trickle into Israel through the parallel import channels.
More than two years before its massive entry into independent battery production based on technology from China's CATL, Ford announced that it would market the entry-level version of the Mach E with new lithium phosphate (LFP) batteries instead of the nickel-cobalt-magnesium (NCM) batteries it had used until so.
The crossover gets more efficient batteries with an improved lifespan (photo: manufacturer's website, manufacturer)
The new 72 kWh battery allows for a negligible improvement in the vehicle's range, from 397 to 402 km in the rear-wheel drive version and 363 instead of 360 km in the dual-drive version. But the real news
of these batteries is a promise of a life cycle Longer: slower decline in battery life over time, better resistance to charging to 100% battery, and shorter charging times. Disadvantage: reduced efficiency in cold weather conditions. This, by the way, is also the type of batteries that Tesla currently uses in the Model 3 models The basic SR.
The mention of Tesla here comes to complete the picture of Ford's move, the LFP batteries do not use nickel and cobalt, two metals that are both expensive and often come from mines in countries with questionable working conditions. So the LFP battery is cheaper than existing batteries.
With the use of the new battery, it is possible for Ford to cut the prices of the Mach E. But not only because of the new battery - since the beginning of the year, Ford has invested 2 billion dollars in accelerating the production rate of its two electric models - the Mach E and the F150 Lightning van.
The annual production rate of the electric Mustang at the factory in Cotitlan, Mexico will be doubled by the end of the year to 210 thousand cars a year.
The production rate of the electric F-150 will be tripled to 150,000 pickups per year at the production line in Michigan, USA.
Higher production capacities also mean cost reductions for each unit that comes off the production line, and when Tesla upsets the streetcar market with price reductions, the manufacturers cannot roll the cost reduction into their pockets and translate it into discounts.
Ford is investing 3.5 billion dollars in a new battery factory in Michigan, based on Chinese technology (photo: manufacturer's website)
And so the basic Mach E has now been discounted by $3,000-$4,000, depending on the version, which is already a second reduction in the price of the electric Ford, after its price dropped in January by $900 to $5,800.
Now the entry price of the model in the US is $43,000 - still $3,000 more expensive than the basic Model 3, and $1,500 more than the entry-level version of the Hyundai Ioniq 5. So, on paper, the discount would have made it possible to
sell the Mach E in Israel at a starting price of approx. -210-220 thousand shekels. This is a more expensive price than some of the direct competitors, but significantly lower than the 289 thousand shekels currently being asked for the Mach E in the parallel import channels.
As revealed in Walla, the Mach E will arrive in Israel as a regular import in 2024, after the facelift that will undergo The model Medalek Motors also stated that it has not yet been determined which versions will arrive in Israel and at what prices.
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