Not 'feast and famine': Why Ford says you won't be left waiting too long for a 2024 Mustang Mach-E, Ranger or Everest

Ford says it expects routine supply of its ambitious new electric SUV offering, the Mustang Mach-E, as well as bolstered supply of the ever-popular Ranger ute and Everest off-roader.

Speaking to CarsGuide at the Australian launch, Ford Product Communications Manager Ben Nightingale explained the brand had secured “regular supply” thanks to logistics and shipping improvements.

“I don’t expect us to do [shipping batches] it’s all about steady supply and not having feast and famine,” he said, referring to issues some brands face bringing in several hundred units at a time, and then having a lull in supply while orders build up.

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“We’ve managed to secure a supply that we can satisfy what we’re seeing in terms of orders and give ourselves stretch targets and avoid doing ballots or lotteries or anything like that.”

Nightingale added the number of units available per year was in the “thousands” but wouldn’t be drawn on an exact expected figure.

Initial interest in the electric SUV, which starts from $79,990 before on-road costs for the base Select, stretching to $107,665 for the GT, was said to be strong, with “hundreds” of confirmed pre-orders, and “thousands” of what Ford calls ‘keep me informed’ - also known as expressions of interest.

Ford says it expects routine supply of its ambitious new electric SUV offering, the Mustang Mach-E.

Initial interest is weighted at about 40 per cent toward the top-spec GT, although the brand expects roughly an even split between the three variants to eventuate over time. The first deliveries for Mach-E will begin in December 2024, and the car can be ordered either traditionally through the dealer or ordered online with delivery handled by a traditional bricks-and-mortor outlet.

So what accounts for Ford’s ability to deliver where other brands have had to severely limit units, attract long waiting lists or put stop-sales on some of their most important products?

It’s down to constant supply chain tweaks, according to Nightingale, who said while the microprocessor shortage was still an ongoing problem, Ford was manoeuvring to have its own chip fabrication plants, alongside the announcement of its recent exclusive shipping deal to bolster supply of Ranger and Everest from Thailand.

Ford says it expects a bolstered supply of the ever-popular Everest off-roader.

“It varies per model. We still see challenges with Ranger and Everest in Thailand, but we’re working extremely hard across our supply chains to ensure that impact is minimised,” Nightingale explained.

While in some ways the damage had already been felt by Ford - with the Escape PHEV being a victim of shortages which hampered its chances of making an impact on the mid-size SUV space which since lead to a discontinuation in Australia - the brand said the same fate won’t befall the incoming F-150.

“There's good ongoing supply of F-150 - with the remanufacture going on in Australia we can do 20 trucks a day with the current resourcing. The key piece of that is the incoming vehicles from the USA - again we’ve been able to secure that supply and we’re able to keep that production running,” Nightingale said.

Ford was manoeuvring to have its own chip fabrication plants, alongside the announcement of its recent exclusive shipping deal to bolster supply of Ranger and Everest from Thailand.

Regardless, initial orders might attract a wait for the highly-anticipated truck, with Nightingale conceding there would “probably” be waiting lists. 

“We’re in a position where we’ll be able to satisfy demand we’ve got in maybe Q1 or Q2 next year,” he said.

Now that the Mach-E and F-150 have arrived, next for Ford will be a fully electric version of the Puma small SUV, which is confirmed for Australia in 2024 but is yet to be revealed globally, and a plug-in hybrid variant of the Ranger, which will be added to the line-up in 2025.