*Author: Sid
“The Tesla Killer”, “In the Name of the Father of Invention Edison”, “Betting on the Glory of Ford Mustang” – Ford Mustang Mach-E, the “transformation work of Ford’s electric revolution” has arrived, and it is produced domestically.
In the non-snowy winter of November 2019 in Los Angeles, as one of the first domestic automotive media, GeekCar witnessed the first global release and appearance of Mach-E in front of car enthusiasts at a small civilian airport in Jet Center in downtown Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the launch conference of its “North American brother” Tesla Model Y was being held at the adjacent venue one week later.
After a year and a half, Mustang Mach-E, the dark horse, finally appeared in front of Chinese users.
During this year and a half, Tesla Model 3 and Model Y have received orders from six-figure car owners worldwide. At the same time, the Chinese smart electric vehicle market has undergone earth-shaking changes. Independent brands have vigorously launched smart electric sub-brands, and “new car-making” companies have also begun to launch their second-generation models. In addition, technology and internet companies such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and Baidu have entered the competition, making the smart electric vehicle manufacturing industry in the Chinese market increasingly interesting.
Therefore, is Mach-E coming late?
This is often discussed by media friends and potential electric vehicle users. In my opinion, whether it is late or not has to be analyzed from the two perspectives of industry and product. First, let’s take a look at Mach-E’s product power.
Let’s start with the price. The price of Ford Mustang Mach-E can be said to exceed the expectations of many users, but it does meet our expectations.
This is also the most fiercely competitive price range for “smart electric vehicles”. Because at lower prices, it is difficult to produce differentiation at the product level. It is more about cost-effectiveness and discounts. At higher prices, brand premium capability will dominate the main consumer influence factors. Therefore, consumer decisions in this range are the most complex as they need to consider both innovation in product function differentiation and practical cost-effectiveness, and brand value will also have a certain impact.
For Mach-E, its most direct competitor is Tesla Model Y. Firstly, both cars come from North American car companies. Currently, both models are domestic. Moreover, they are both focused on young sports, one is more inclined to pioneering technology intelligence, and the other is more inclined to design inheritance and handling performance. We use an image to show a direct comparison:
Compared with the Tesla Model Y, data shows that the Ford Mustang Mach-E has a smaller body size. However, perhaps due to design reasons, visually, the Mach-E appears larger than the Model Y, and Mach-E achieves a longer wheelbase in a smaller body size, but in reality, Mach-E’s rear legroom is not particularly outstanding.
Currently, the Model Y sold in China only has the long-range dual-motor version and the high-performance dual-motor version. Before the Model Y had a single-motor version, the long-range rear-wheel-drive version of the Mustang Mach-E had strong competitiveness. Moreover, due to the price advantage, the standard-range rear-wheel-drive version of the Mach-E is more competitive compared to the Model Y. Even if the Model Y later launches a single-motor version, it may be difficult to close the price advantage with Mach-E.
We can compare the performance versions of the Mustang Mach-E long-range all-wheel-drive and Tesla’s best-selling long-range all-wheel-drive Model Y. The Mustang Mach-E has a slight price advantage, and both cars have similar range and acceleration performance, but Mach-E has lower motor power and higher torque. Regarding automatic driving, it’s hard to say which is better since Mustang Mach-E has not been systematically tested and experienced. However, judging from current user feedback, Tesla’s autopilot may be its strength.
Looking at the strongest high-performance versions of the two cars, they are also basically benchmarking each other in terms of price, range, and acceleration performance. Therefore, overall, before Tesla again lowers its product pricing or launches a single-motor version, Ford Mustang Mach-E has a chance to seize the 250,000-300,000 yuan pure electric SUV market.As the electric vehicle market grows, the consumer groups for electric vehicles will become more mature and specialized, and more and more people will know exactly what kind of electric vehicle they need. In comparison, I personally think that the Mach-E is very suitable for young people who have rich “emotion” towards cars and driving, and want to experience the freshness and convenience brought by electric vehicles.
Firstly, Mustang Mach-E inherits the classic design elements of Ford Mustang, such as the highly recognizable taillights and side lines. Mach-E’s designers have done their best to make this pure electric SUV look more dynamic and inheritable.
The two most impressive parts for me are the handling of the sloping roofline of the rear seats and the black treatment of the side skirts, which make the entire car look more “refined” and “dynamic” as if the Mach-E is wearing a tight sportswear. Coupled with Mustang’s iconic long front-end styling, it truly brings a touch of spirit to the dull and tedious pure electric vehicle design.
Secondly, the Ford North American Sport Models team tuned the chassis based on the racing simulator located in North Carolina, USA, and added Brembo’s all-aluminum four-piston calipers, as well as Pirelli P Zero and Continental Eagle Touring custom-made original tires, which make me want to ride this electric horse and drift around corners.
In addition, in terms of intelligence, Ford’s approach is also very grounded. They choose to cooperate with Baidu to create the SYNC+2.0 smart travel system for Chinese users based on the vertically mounted large screen in the car. Based on our previous evaluation and experience of in-vehicle systems, it can be basically confirmed that the ease of use and the degree of intelligence of the Mach-E’s system in terms of voice control should far exceed that of Tesla and some flashy but not practical smart cabins. And Ford has also incorporated ecosystems such as iQiyi, ETCP parking, Ximalaya, etc., to achieve online payment through the in-vehicle system. In addition, Ford also retains the “magic” floating knob in the center console screen shown in the initial North American prototype, and I am really looking forward to what the real human-machine interaction experience of this car will be like.
In terms of autonomous driving, the Mach-E series comes standard with the Ford Co-Pilot 360 intelligent driving assistance professional package, which includes practical assistance driving functions such as ACC and TJA, as well as the Ford C-V2X system. Of course, you can also choose to upgrade the intelligent driving assistance upgrade package to have advanced functions such as BlueCruise active driving assistance and automatic lane change assistance. The hardware is pre-embedded, and the autonomous driving function can be upgraded to a higher level through OTA in the future.
Therefore, from the overall product strength, Ford has not “fallen behind” due to its late entry, but has become a “unique show” in the current intelligent electric vehicle market with such sincere pricing strategies and distinctive product features, and definitely has the opportunity to “compete” with its competitors already on the market and those to be released in 2021.
Secondly, from an industry perspective, China’s new energy industry chain is gradually maturing, and the technology advantages of various intelligent electric vehicle sectors are gradually emerging. Ford’s research and development investment in autonomous driving and intelligent connected vehicles reached a pace where it is gradually being implemented in its products several years ago. Therefore, this period is an opportunity and a confidence boost for Ford to go all-in on electric cars. Mustang Mach-E, as a flag and a beacon for Ford’s transition to electric cars, is very important for Ford. This explains why Ford chose the Mustang, a “golden invitation”, as its first model to enter into the electric vehicle market.
Of course, it may be difficult for Ford to make Mustang fans who prefer fuel-powered cars fall in love with this “electric dark horse” that came out of nowhere. After all, it does not have the roar of a V8 engine, nor the excitement brought by the smell of gasoline. However, Ford may be able to gain a new group of electric Mustang fans through Mach-E. At the beginning of its launch in North America, Mach-E received a large number of orders, and it is still increasing. 70% of the orders came from potential consumers of Tesla.
And now, Mustang Mach-E has entered the Chinese market with full sincerity. From a rational perspective, it will definitely “kill it” and try to capture part of the market share of brands such as Tesla, NIO, and Ideal. But in my opinion, these range, acceleration, battery, intelligence, and autonomous driving capabilities seem to be just a “slap in the face” for those who are waiting to see “traditional automakers making intelligent electric cars”. The real appeal of Mach-E to me is its “emotional resonance”.”Bringing the Real Driving Pleasure to Intelligent Electric Vehicles.” This sentence spoken by Zhu Jiang Izzy, the Chief Operating Officer of Ford (China) Electric Vehicle Division, at the press conference really impressed me. In an era where automotive design seems faceless yet pervasive in the tail lights, and 0-60 mph acceleration time is frequently measured in 12345 seconds, where space and screen sizes have gone MAX Pro Pro Pro, there is one company that has created a car model that not only adapts to the times but also surprises and excites us in unexpected ways. It resonates emotionally with us in this automotive industry that has been experiencing ups and downs for over a century, and it feels great.
Perhaps Elon Musk’s exploration of space and his fascination with forward-looking technology fascinates you more, or perhaps Li Bin’s care for users and his service concepts resonate more deeply with you. However, for a car enthusiast, at this moment when we must enter the era of electrification, the Mustang Mach-E may be a good choice.
I have placed my order, do as you wish.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.