Ford might delay Mustang Mach-E launch, will update as production restarts

Ford might delay the Mustang Mach-E launch amid the coronavirus pandemic and will give an updated timeline as it restarts its production facilities.

The Mustang Mach-E is Ford’s first all-electric vehicle built from the ground up and one of the most anticipated electric vehicles to launch in 2020.

When the automaker unveiled the electric crossover last year, it announced 75 and 98kWh battery pack options for 230 to 300 miles of range, 150kW fast-charging, and a 0-60 mph acceleration down to the mid-3 seconds for the performance version.

With everything packaged in a sleek design and starting at just $43,895 before incentive in the US, we think that Ford might have a winner if they can produce them in high volume.

Ford previously said that production is going to begin in late 2020, and the first deliveries are expected in Europe and the US in October.

However, like many other automakers, Ford might see delays due to the current coronavirus pandemic.

In Norway, which is expected to be one of the first markets to get the Mustang Mach-E, Ford has informed reservation holders that they have delayed the launch of the Mach-E configurator to “June/July” and deliveries to November (via MacEForum and  Mach-E club forum and translated from Norwegian):

As you know, Mustang Mach-E offers very good range for the various configurations, and soon your own Mach-E is within reach too! Despite the challenging situation around the coronavirus (COVID-19), we are now in full production planning and deliveries are scheduled to start in November 2020. To ensure the earliest possible delivery of your car, we recommend that you do not make changes to your pre-order, as this may result in some later production. If you still want to make changes, contact Ford customer service.

Final type-approval data and thus also final prices have been somewhat postponed as a consequence of COVID-19. As it looks now, we expect this in place at the end of June/July, at this time you will also be asked to finally confirm your order, as well as have the opportunity to order accessories and apply for financing. We emphasize that you can safely keep your pre-order — you can cancel this free of charge at any time until you confirm your order.

We reached out to a Ford spokesperson regarding the announcement and were told that the automaker is going to release an update about the timing once they can bring their factories back online, which should give them a better idea of the timeline for Mach-E production.

Electrek’s Take

To me, it sounds like Ford is playing it safe and waiting for confirmation that they will be able to restart production before updating the Mustang Mach-E timeline, but the current shutdown might have already delayed the start of production by a month.

Any further extension to the shutdown is likely going to create more delays.

To be fair, Ford is far from being alone in this situation. Rivian will likely push the first deliveries of its electric vehicles into 2021, and Lordstown just announced the same for its electric pickup truck.

We expect more to follow.