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Ford leverages EV production head start against rivals in latest ramp

Credit: Ford

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Ford has announced a massive EV production ramp for this year, leveraging its head start compared to its traditional rivals.

Despite Ford entering the EV market significantly behind Tesla and even lagging General Motors, its vehicles have quickly overtaken its traditional rivals, making the Blue Oval the second most popular EV brand in the United States. Now Ford has announced its newest EV production ram, hoping to ensure its lead remains as more competitors enter the market in the coming years.

The latest EV production ramp aims to increase the production of Ford’s most popular models. The Ford Mustang Mach-E, the electric SUV which helped cement Ford’s EV lead after launching in 2021 and remains the brand’s most popular EV, receives the most substantial bump, while the F-150 Lightning and E-Transit subsequently receive more minor production bumps.

The production ramp of the Mustang Mach-E began last week and aims to double hourly production, with a year-end goal of an annual run rate of 210,000 vehicles. The F-150 Lightning, which will resume production on the 13th of this month, aims to triple annual production, an annual run rate of 150,000 vehicles, by the end of the year. The truck’s production ramp costs $2 billion across three Ford production facilities in Michigan, including its main production facility, the Rouge EV Center.

The E-Transit receives a more conservative production bump, aiming for an annual run rate of 38,000 vehicles at the Kansas City Assembly Plant, which manufactures the Transit and the E-Transit vans.

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Other popular models, including the Ford Maverick and the Ford Bronco Sport, are also receiving production ramps to help the Blue Oval stay ahead of demand for the popular, affordable models.

Ford’s latest electric vehicle production push is part of its larger plan to reach an annual run rate of 2 million vehicles by 2026.

The production bump follows Ford’s recently announced sales statistics for February, in which its EV sales jumped by 68%, helping the company grow its overall marketshare by 1.4%.

Ford’s aggressive EV production ramp only becomes far more apparent when compared to its big-three siblings. General Motors, who beat Ford to the EV market with the popular Chevy Bolt model, has yet to introduce competitors to Ford’s Mustang Mach-E or F-150 Lighting and expects to begin production of its Chevy Silverado EV late this year. Those looking for a mid-size electric SUV from GM, such as the Chevy Equinox EV or Blazer EV, are forced to wait even longer, with both models coming sometime in 2024.

This isn’t to say that GM doesn’t have a production ramp planned at all. General Motors CEO Mary Barra has outlined that the auto group will produce 400,000 EVs “in North America during 2022 and 2023.” However, model-specific production numbers have not yet been published.

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Stellantis brands are even further behind. RAM plans to introduce its first all-electric truck, the RAM 1500 REV, in 2025. Dodge has yet to reveal any EVs in a production-ready form. And Jeep, while recently introducing its first EV to Europe, is only slightly ahead of its sibling brands, with the first Jeep EVs coming to North America in 2025 as well.

Ford is set to remain a leader in electrification, at least compared to the other big three manufacturers, and potentially globally, and this significant EV production ramp will likely be critical to maintaining that position.

What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!

Will is an auto enthusiast, a gear head, and an EV enthusiast above all. From racing, to industry data, to the most advanced EV tech on earth, he now covers it at Teslarati.

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Tesla makes online ordering even easier

Tesla has a great trade-in program that allows you to give the company your vehicle in exchange for cash, even if it’s not an EV. Their trades are mostly fair, but the company seems to undervalue its own vehicles, and there have been plenty of complaints over offers in the past.

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(Credit: Tesla Asia | X)

Tesla has adjusted its Online Design Studio to make for an easier trade-in process, reflecting the details of the exchange for a more accurate reflection of payment terms.

Tesla has a great trade-in program that allows you to give the company your vehicle in exchange for cash, even if it’s not an EV. Their trades are mostly fair, but the company seems to undervalue its own vehicles, and there have been plenty of complaints over offers in the past.

Trade-ins are usually given by submitting vehicle details, then Tesla sends an email with an offer. Offers are non-negotiable, but do adjust over time, although the latest offer is valid for 30 days.

I traded my ICE vehicle for a Tesla Model Y: here’s how it went

Knowing your new Tesla’s cash price, leasing or loan details, and monthly payment information used to be done by the car buyer. From personal experience, I simply subtracted my trade-in from the cash price of the Tesla Model Y, and I plugged those numbers into the payment calculator.

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Now, Tesla is implementing the trade-in process directly into the Design Studio. It will adjust the price of the car and the different monthly payment methods automatically:

The change is already noticed in a handful of states, including California, but it has not rolled out across the board quite yet. It will be implemented in all of the U.S., as well as Canada, this coming week.

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The trade-in process is very simple, and after you accept your offer, you simply drop your vehicle off during the delivery process. Making this simple change will be greatly appreciated by owners.

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Tesla confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.

After launching in Austin, Texas, in late June and the Bay Area of California just a few weeks later, Tesla has been attempting to expand its Robotaxi suite to new states and cities in the U.S., and even outside of the country.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Robotaxi will hit five new cities in the United States in the coming months, the company confirmed.

After launching in Austin, Texas, in late June and the Bay Area of California just a few weeks later, Tesla has been attempting to expand its Robotaxi suite to new states and cities in the U.S., and even outside of the country.

The Robotaxi suite is a ride-hailing service Tesla offers, but the details of it change with each jurisdiction, as regulations vary. For example, in Austin, Tesla can operate the Robotaxi suite without anyone in the driver’s seat, as long as the vehicle does not enter a freeway.

Credit: Tesla

In the Bay Area, a Safety Monitor rides in the driver’s seat, essentially acting as the vehicle operator with Full Self-Driving controlling the car.

The local regulations and how Tesla handles them will continue to be a relevant part of the discussion, especially as the company aims to expand the Robotaxi program to different areas. This has been a primary focus of the company for several months, especially within the United States.

CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla was aiming to launch Robotaxi in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida. However, the company detailed five specific cities where it will launch Robotaxi next during the Annual Shareholder Meeting on Thursday.

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Tesla will launch Robotaxi in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, and Miami next, broadening its Service Area for the suite to more major cities across the U.S.

It has said it plans to offer the service to half of the U.S. population by the end of the year, but it does not seem as if it will expand to more than a handful of cities this year, which is still tremendous progress, all things considered.

As far as autonomy is concerned, Tesla has always had lofty expectations and has made some even loftier statements.

At the Shareholder Meeting, Musk said that the company would likely be able to enable vehicle owners to text while the vehicle drives, alleviating them from potentially having some of the responsibility they have behind the wheel.

Tesla says texting and driving capability is coming ‘in a month or two’

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It is not confirmed that Tesla will roll this out in the next few months, but Musk said there is a possibility.

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Tesla launches another new Model Y trim at a bargain price with massive range

It is the second most-affordable Model Y trim level in China, trailing the base Rear-Wheel-Drive and coming in under the All-Wheel-Drive.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has launched yet another new Model Y trim level, but this time it is in China, and it is at a bargain price.

It also has an insane range rating.

On Friday, Tesla launched the new Model Y Long Range Rear-Wheel-Drive in China, priced at 288,500 yuan ($40,500), an incredible deal considering it is not a stripped-down version of the vehicle like the Model Y Standard.

It is the second most-affordable Model Y trim level in China, trailing the base Rear-Wheel-Drive and coming in under the All-Wheel-Drive.

The big appeal with this new Model Y trim is obviously its price, but its range rating is also one of the best we’ve seen. Rated at 821 kilometers on the CLTC scale, it converts to 510 miles. It uses a 78.4 kWh CATL battery.

Converted to real-world range, however, that 821-kilometer range rated by the CLTC actually is equivalent to about 357 miles on the EPA scale, which is still a very respectable number and comes in at a higher range than the Long Range All-Wheel-Drive configuration that is available in the U.S.

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Tesla has truly brought a wide variety of Model Y trims to the Chinese market, including a new Model Y L configuration that features a slightly longer wheelbase, as well as additional interior features like extended thigh legrests and captain’s chairs with armrests.

It is unclear whether Tesla will bring a Premium Rear-Wheel-Drive option of the Model Y to the U.S., especially as it has already rolled out four configurations of the all-electric crossover in the market. With the new Standard offerings, Tesla will likely keep its lineup as simple as possible.

However, the company has hinted that there is a slim possibility the Model Y L could come to the U.S. sometime late next year, but CEO Elon Musk said that it is not a guarantee.

Tesla is more concerned with self-driving efforts in the U.S., and despite calls from customers for larger vehicles, it does not seem concerned with making them available, at least not for now.

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