As the year 2026 approaches, Ford Australia has released its update MY2025 Mustang Mach-E SUV with design and drivetrain tweaks at slightly higher prices, but despite being the brand’s slowest-selling car, the Blue Oval remains exactly where it should be.
With 389 sales this year, the electric Mustang Mach-E is down from the 612 sales it recorded this time last year. New electric vehicles (EVs) continue to arrive here in droves, saturating the Australian market, while rivals such as the Tesla Model Y are still gaining ground in sales.
When Daily Sparkz Asked whether the launch of the Mustang Mach-E had met the brand’s expectations, Ford Australia marketing director Ambrose Henderson said there were “a few things to note”.
“The first is the enormous competition in the market. The Australian automotive market is arguably the most competitive in the world, based on the number of participants and the fierceness of the competition here,” he said at the launch of the updated model.
“We believe the updates we’ve made to design, technology, driving experience and dynamics will resonate with customers. We’re really excited to see what this will do in the future.”
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Mr. Henderson would not disclose Ford’s sales targets for the Mach-E, but reiterated that the brand believes it is “rightly positioned from a pricing perspective to … meet sales expectations.”
The updated three-strong Mach-E range is up to $1,000 more expensive than before. The base Mach-E Select now starts at $65,990 before on-road (was $64,990 before on-road), while the Premium and GT are each up $500 to $80,490 and $98,490 before on-road, respectively.
This is despite several competitors staying well under $60,000 before launch. These include the segment-dominating Model Y, which starts at $58,900 before on-road launch, while several Chinese options are even cheaper.
In addition, major updates are coming to previously retired rivals like the Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra (the latter slashed prices by up to $7,000). At the same time current updates for Skoda Enyaq I have brotherThere are significant, comprehensive improvements.
This could all be bad news for Ford, because while the Mach-E has outsold every other model except the bZ4X so far this year, its value proposition is becoming less and less enticing as brands previously averse to electric vehicles step up their offerings.
Still, Mr. Henderson stressed that the Mach-E isn’t built to compete with otherwise boring mainstream electric vehicles; Instead, Ford believes it has created its own stylistic identity while remaining “authentic” to the brand and the rest of its portfolio – past and present.
“The last thing I would say is… it’s really about us being authentic to what we’re strong in and what we represent,” he said Daily Sparkz.
“There are a lot of aerodynamically designed white boxes on the road that are electric vehicles, and that’s not us. That’s not what we wanted to deliver.”
“We wanted to deliver something that was authentically Ford and really capitalize on what is a global icon with the Mustang.”
Of course, the Mustang Mach-E seems to contradict Ford CEO Jim Farley’s statement that his brand would “never make an all-electric Mustang.” Admittedly, he made this comment long after the Mustang Mach-E went into production, but there’s no doubt that the “Mustang” branding helped increase model awareness of this midsize electric SUV.
“(Mustang) celebrated its 60th anniversary this year and we wanted to offer customers an alternative to the ‘traditional’ Mustang that will always have its place, and give them an electric version that offers the same excitement, emotions, driving fun and design that you can’t get in pretty much any other mainstream electric vehicle on the market,” Mr. Henderson said.
“We’re excited to see what this means and how it ties into our brand, and we’ll see what customers say when these go on sale.”
Models like the Mustang Mach-E will be crucial for Ford as global emissions regulations tighten, particularly in Australia, where brands are penalized if they exceed carbon dioxide targets under the government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).
The Mach-E has long been Ford’s only all-electric model in Australia aimed at private buyers, with the E-Transit and recently launched E-Transit Custom vans naturally aimed at fleets.
The Blue Oval also offers a pair of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) with its Ranger Ute and Transit Custom Van, although sales are still dominated by diesel and petrol models.
Ford Australia scrapped plans to launch the Puma Gen-E electric SUV in 2024 as the brand focused on electrified light and light trucks.
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