“Ford’s Got A Real Problem,” Says Dealer On Rising EV Inventory

Increasing inventory levels for EVs appear to be a growing pain for Ford dealers. One East Coast Ford dealer shared that ballooning supply was not in sync with the demand, leading to more Ford EVs remaining unsold.

“I think Ford has got a real problem on its hands, based on the bets it has made,” the dealer told Insider. Speaking on conditions of anonymity to avoid professional backlash, they said that stocks of Ford F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-e hadn’t piled up in the same manner before.

This particular dealer isn’t the only one declining new allocations of Ford EVs. Some other Ford dealers they spoke to also declined their new Mustang Mach-e allocations.

Another dealer shared that the long delivery times could be hurting sales, as many orders don’t convert into deliveries. Potential F-150 Lightning buyers likely have multiple EV reservations for different models, and they purchase whichever is available first.

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We reported recently that Ford had 56 days’ worth of supply for the electric truck, including vehicles in transit. For the first time, the brand has also offered rebates to make its EVs more attractive. Buyers in some US cities can now save up to $2,500 on the F-150 Lightning, in addition to federal and state-level tax incentives.

The sales figures give a mixed signal regarding Ford’s EV trajectory. The Detroit automaker sold nearly 23,000 BEVs in the first half of 2023, a 12 percent increase over the same period in 2022. F-150 Lightning sales were up by 281 percent, but Mustang Mach-e and E-Transit sales were down by 21 percent and 3 percent, respectively. 

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In terms of the turn rate – the percentage of EVs sold from existing inventory – Ford dealers sold 86.4 percent of Mustang Mach-E inventory in the first 30 days of Q2 2022, but that figure dropped to 27.7 percent in Q2 2023, as per Cloud Theory data shared by Insider.

The brand is pouring billions of dollars into ramping up EV production in North America. Production of its electric truck is expected to triple this year at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan. Production of the E-transit, America’s best-selling electric van in 2022, will also be scaled up at the Kansas City Assembly Plant.

The Mustang Mach-e, manufactured at the Cuautitlan plant in Mexico and also at the Changan Ford facility in Chongqing, China, is expected to reach a global annual production target of 210,000 units by the end of 2023.

What do you think of the bloating inventory levels? Are consumers ready for Ford EVs yet? Leave your thoughts in the comments.