Electric vehicle buyers usually have an ecological and economical motive when buying a new car, although not everyone wants a local zero-emissions engine just to go green or save money. Many customers are happy with the performance the cars offer and the fact that, according to Ford, most potential EV consumers will switch to electric power not because of environmental motivations, but because they want the performance that comes with it.
If you look at the company’s EV portfolio in the United States, you won’t find small, affordable, and efficient electric vehicles in the same category as the Nissan Leaf, for example. The situation is the same in Europe, although the Old continent will soon receive an electric vehicle bearing the Ford logo based on the Volkswagen platform, as well as the all-electric Puma crossover. In America, the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning, both very powerful and not efficient enough, are Ford’s best-selling EVs.
So, what is the automaker’s answer to the needs of the US market? Only electric vehicles are “really great” even if they are not environmentally friendly. “We always use it in meetings, ‘if it’s like today but a little better, cancel it.’ We’re not going to make it, it’s not a winning formula. The winning formula for Ford is to pick the segments our customers love and then figure out how to make them incredibly great, to do things they’ve never done before,” Darren Palmer, VP of electric vehicle programs for the Ford Model E division, explains. in a recent interview with Car Guide.
Or, if we have to translate the language of marketing, Ford wants to make electric vehicles that people want to buy because of their design, performance, and technology. If this strategy sounds familiar, it’s probably because automakers like Porsche and Polestar are following very similar paths. “There are other reasons for people to have it which is logical, but the most important one is ‘You have to have it,’” Palmer also explains.
Do customers even care about going green? Not really, Ford believes, as Emma Bergg, director of communications for Ford’s electric vehicle program, told the Australian publication that clients don’t really “care about end-to-end stories.” Ultimately, Ford wanted to give them “something they’ve never had before.”
