Ford works overtime to get Mach-E rollout right

DETROIT — After the bungled launch of the 2020 Explorer, Ford Motor Co. executives made clear that the automaker couldn't afford to stumble with its next round of high-profile vehicles, including the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover. Now, officials are going the extra mile to make the Detroit 3's first serious challenger to Tesla's electric vehicles a success.

Ford has proactively compensated buyers for delivery delays as production ramps up. It is even giving some buyers in New Jersey an extra $5,000 discount to make up for a state incentive that expired before their Mach-E was ready.

Meanwhile, Ford's public relations staff has been scouring the Internet to respond to owner complaints early on, with one official personally talking down dealerships that were demanding thousands of dollars over sticker price to leverage early demand.

Some of the tactics are new territory for a company with more than a century of experience in customer service. At stake, experts say, is the brand's credibility among impressionable and sometimes influential shoppers in a burgeoning segment.

"When you're launching not just a new vehicle, but a new type of vehicle, and you're going after a new target audience, especially a younger, tech-savvy group of EV buyers, you can't treat it like another vehicle," Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars, told Automotive News. "You don't get a second chance to make a first impression, and there are a lot of potential first impressions going on with non-Ford buyers with the Mach-E. They have to look like a serious player; not just that they can produce the car, but that they can support the launch and the owner body."

Andrew Frick, Ford's vice president of sales in the U.S. and Canada, said the automaker has emphasized internally the need to get things right with the Mach-E because of the vehicle's significance and potential.

"Each of our all-new vehicles is important to launch right and with great quality, but there is a certain level of special attention and excitement around Mustang Mach-E after customers have read the positive reviews and heard about the awards," he said in an emailed statement. "We're hearing from tech-forward customers and customers who hadn't considered an EV before how excited they are for Mach-E, so we need to make sure we get this right as we get ready to also launch the all-electric E-Transit and all-electric F-150 later this year and next."

Ford sold 6,617 Mach-E crossovers in the U.S. from December through March, and company officials say 70 percent of buyers previously drove a competitor's vehicle.

Many of those shoppers also are interested in Tesla, a brand Ford and its executives have directly targeted.

"I don't think it's overstating it to say there's a battle for the hearts and minds of EV buyers going on right now, specifically between Tesla and Ford," Brauer said. "You're seeing a lot of energy on both sides trying to make the case that their models, and their long-term plans, are the superior ones."

In some instances, that means defending the vehicle or correcting glitches in real time online.

When a photo of a window sticker with a handwritten $10,000 "market adjustment" on it spread on Twitter last month, Ford's head of product communications, Mike Levine, handled the matter himself. "The markup has been removed from this Mach-E," Levine tweeted the next morning. He promised to help anyone who encountered a markup find a different dealer.

Ford also has been performing additional quality checks on some Mach-Es to ensure buyers don't experience problems after delivery, although those have caused delays. To make up for the wait, in early March, the company told 4,500 buyers — some of whom already had received their Mach-E — it was doubling their free charging allotment, and it gave them extra FordPass Rewards points, which can be used toward the cost of maintenance or vehicle-related purchases. For 150 buyers who experienced multiple delays, Ford covered their first monthly payment of up to $1,000.

The emphasis on smooth launches comes after the slow, messy rollout of the redesigned Explorer that contributed to a big drop in the automaker's 2019 profit. In addition to the Mach-E, Ford has been working to ramp up production of the redesigned F-150 full-size pickup and the new Bronco SUV and Bronco Sport crossover over the past year.

"We have known from the start that with Mustang Mach-E, a large number of customers have a continuously connected presence with friends and family, and online through social media and with like-minded enthusiasts," Frick said. "We have made it a priority to communicate and respond to their questions in certain places where tech-savvy electric vehicle customers hang out, like Twitter. It shows our commitment to treating them like family and that we're listening to all the feedback they provide."

Patrick Anderson and his wife, Olivia Leigh, are the sort of passionate owners Ford is trying to please.

The Denver couple, who reserved a Mach-E First Edition when Ford introduced the vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2019, started a video channel and website about their experiences. They even dyed their hair when taking delivery March 2 to match the Grabber Blue color they chose.

"I thought Ford did an OK job letting me know what was happening until it got to the shipping stage," Anderson said. "We're so used to seeing packages tracked when we order online, it seemed crazy that I couldn't track my car every step of the way."

They got their Mach-E seven weeks after it was built, following the quality-check delay, which earned them more free charging.

Anderson said the company was upfront about the delay in an email, and he was pleased to get the additional charging plus a Mach-E water bottle for the trouble. He also was impressed when a member of Ford's communications team promptly responded after he tweeted about the delay.

"She wasn't able to really help or expedite things," he said. "But it was nice to see that Ford really was trying to make customers happy."