Ford has already promised that it will be ramping up production rates for its Mustang Mach-E electric car. But earlier this week it delivered an added perk that wasn’t already anticipated: another price cut.
With it, pricing drops on all of the Mustang Mach-E electric cars by as much as $3,700—factoring in a mandatory destination fee boosted by $300 to $1,800. And with it, Ford has released pricing information for its Standard Range models that now include a different lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry.
Under the reformulated EV tax credit, called the Clean Vehicle Credit, the Mach-E qualifies for $3,750.
Ford Mustang Mach-E assembly – Mexico
Ford says that with the new LFP cells, Standard Range models offer more power, more range, and faster charging. On the power front, output is up to 311 hp. These models, featuring a pack with the same 70-kwh capacity as outgoing Standard Range models (although with prismatic cells rather than the Extended Range’s pouch cells), can get from 10% to 80% in 33 minutes. The Standard Range versions now achieve a targeted 250 miles with rear-wheel drive and 226 miles with all-wheel drive, up from 247 and 224 miles, respectively.
Elsewhere in the Mach-E model range, Extended Range versions span up to 312 miles in California Route 1 guise—although 2024 numbers haven’t yet been confirmed.
Ford comparing NCM and LFP battery types
Ford has said that the Standard Range’s LFP cells are a better choice for future bidirectional charging, and they’ve emphasized another advantage: that these batteries can be topped off to 100% daily if desired—something not recommended for the NCM chemistries used in other versions.
LFP cells do have some disadvantages, though. They can be sluggish to charge in very cold temperatures, and they weigh more, given the same capacity. Ford hasn’t yet said what the curb weight increase is for the Standard Range Mach-E.
Ford Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning getting CATL LFP batteries
Ford revealed in February that LFP models would come first to the Mach-E in calendar year 2023 and then to the F-150 Lightning in calendar year 2024. At that time it suggested that the motivation behind the change was to improve affordability—something the F-150 Lightning, with its 50% markup in price versus the original MSRP, could certainly use.
Among the tweaks in Mach-E equipment for 2024 is a Comfort Package Lite that, for $1,500, adds heated front seats, a memory driver seat, a heated steering wheel, and power-folding mirrors.
Tesla cut prices by up to 20% in January, triggering what some in the auto industry anticipated as an EV price war. So far, however, only Tesla and Ford have participated in this escalation. Will others follow?
