How Ford plans to sell an electric mid-size SUV to someone who would buy a V8 coupe or a diesel ute

Ford has become a brand known primarily for two things - the hot-selling and primarily diesel-powered Ranger ute and it's predominantly V8-powered Mustang muscle car.

The electric era is upon us though, and at long last, the first deliveries of the brand’s bold Mustang Mach-E electric mid-size SUV will arrive before the end of the year.

But how does a brand that pins so much of its sales on the combustion tech of yesteryear sell an electric car to its fans?

Speaking to CarsGuide at the Mach-E’s launch event, Ford Product Communications Manager, Ben Nightingale, explained the brand’s multi-prong approach to this issue.

The first is the Mach-E’s performance credentials.

“I think us having the ability to put this car on the road with that iconic Mustang nameplate is what sets us apart,” Nightingale said.

“It’s a sweet car to drive - it does things really well - it’s got the ability to run around the track while equally handling the day-to-day commute.”

Indeed, the Mach-E has more solid performance credentials than some of its price-rivals, with the mid-grade versions of the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 not quite having the same performance chops.

The second route to success for the EV is not appealing to the typical Ford buyer at all, according to Nightingale.

“We’ve talked about how, overseas, the Mach-E has brought a lot of new customers to the Ford brand, and we expect the same thing here in Australia,” he said, with data from overseas showing up to 65 per cent of Mach-E customers being new to Ford.

His comments are echoed by those made by Myles Hartley, Product Marketing Manager for the Mach-E, who said the electric SUV was for “lovers of the new, people who want to try new experiences and who embrace progressive technology.” Maybe not your typical V8 buyer, then.

Finally, the totally different approach of the Mach-E could be seen as its biggest asset for existing Ford buyers, according to Nightingale, who said: “At the same time, for those customers who might be driving a Ranger, there’s a two-car garage solution.”

“Ranger and Mach-E, or even a Mustang V8 for the weekend, and a Mach-E for the weekly commute. We see lots of opportunities for this car.”

While Ford’s representatives also said initial demand consisted of hundreds of pre-orders and thousands of expressions of interest, it remains to be seen if this level of demand can be kept up for a mid-size SUV in a tough market. The Mach-E will soon be Ford’s only mid-sized offering when it pulls the slow-selling Escape from sale as part of the brand’s move to focus on where it thinks it can be most successful.

The first Mach-Es will be handed over to customers in December of 2023, with prices starting from $79,990 before on-road costs and state-based EV discounts for the base model Select, moving to $91,665 for the mid-grade Premium and $107,665 for the top-spec GT.

Base equipment is largely the same between the three variants, with range and performance being the key factors. The Select and Premium are rear-wheel drive only with 470km and 600km of range respectively, while the top-spec GT nearly doubles performance by going all-wheel drive, slashing range to 491km.

While the Mach-E has been a highly anticipated addition to the Australian EV landscape, it will face tough competition from its more well-established rivals, like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (from $64,500), Kia EV6 (from $72,590), and Tesla Model Y (from $65,400).