Daily Archive: June 8, 2023

Ford scaling back ambitions for Mustang Mach-E in China amid poor sales

The Mustang Mach-E team will be integrated back into Ford China and the separate entity running the project will be written off in the future, according to local media.

(Image credit: Ford Mustang Mach-E Weibo)

Ford once had high hopes for the Mustang Mach-E's performance in China and set up a separate entity to run the line.

Now, after a long period of weak sales, the US auto giant is reportedly scaling back its ambitions for the program.

Ford China is recently undergoing an organizational restructuring that will see the Mustang Mach-E team integrated back into Ford China and the separate entity that runs the program written off in the future, local media outlet Jiemian said today, citing several sources familiar with the matter.

The organizational restructuring will involve more than 2,000 employees and is expected to be completed in July, according to the report.

Because Mustang Mach-E sales are so poor, the separate company will have trouble taking on losses for long, a person familiar with the matter said.

The integration of the team does not mean the Mustang Mach-E will be withdrawn from China, and the model will continue to be produced by Changan Ford, Ford's joint venture in China, according to the report.

Ford launched the Mustang Mach-E in China in April 2021, with the first deliveries coming on December 26 of the same year.

Zhu Jiang, then head of the program, joined Ford China in June 2020 and was responsible for Mach-E-related operations and management of marketing, PR, sales, service and customer experience.

Zhu joined as vice president of user development in March 2017 and left in March 2020.

In November 2021, Zhu left Ford to join Auto, Baidu's car-building arm, and earlier today, Jiemian reported that Zhu had left Jidu to join Lucid Motors.

Ford had high hopes for the Mustang Mach-E, setting up a company called Ford Electric Mach Technologies, or FMeT for short, in September 2022.

It was the first independent company in the Chinese market to be established by a foreign auto brand with a deep focus on the development and operation of smart electric vehicles to fully accelerate electrification and intelligence development, Ford said at the time.

Ford will build on its strong R&D capabilities to create products that meet the needs of Chinese consumers, it said.

But Mustang Mach-E sales in China have been weak, well below those of China's major electric vehicle startups.

Mustang Mach-E sales peaked at 1,535 units last December and then declined, selling just 332 units in April, less than a fraction of rival 's Model Y, Jiemian's report said.

Notably, last December's sales peak appears to have been driven by incentives introduced by Ford.

On October 24, 2022, Tesla lowered the prices of the entire Model 3 and Model Y lineup in China, with the entry-level, rear-wheel-drive Model Y's subsidized starting price dropping to RMB 288,900 ($40,610), down from the previous 316,900.

A few days later, on October 31, Ford announced a price cut for the entire Mustang Mach-E lineup in China, with the subsidized starting price dropping from RMB 275,900 to RMB 249,900.

China's purchase subsidies for NEVs expired at the end of 2022 and had not been renewed.

($1 = RMB 7.1140)

Ford offers up to $5,740 discount on Mustang Mach-E in China

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Zeekr sees 1st production cars of Zeekr X roll off line as delivery nears

The first production vehicles of the X rolled off the production line today and will be shipped to stores in various cities, with first deliveries expected to begin in the middle of this month.

(Image credit: Zeekr)

Zeekr, 's premium electric vehicle (EV) brand, saw the first production vehicles of its third model, the Zeekr X, roll off the production line as deliveries approach.

The first production vehicles of the Zeekr X rolled off the production line today and will be shipped to stores in various cities, with first deliveries expected to begin in the middle of this month, Zeekr said.

On April 12, Zeekr launched the Zeekr X, a model it hopes will become the benchmark for luxury compact cars.

The Zeekr X comes in three versions, with one starting at RMB 189,800 ($26,670) and the other two at RMB 209,800.

The Zeekr X has been available for pre-order since its launch, and the model aims to deliver 40,000 units this year.

Zeekr was officially launched as a separate company in March 2021, and models currently on sale include the Zeekr 001 hatchback and the Zeekr 009 MPV, both of which are built at the company's plant in Ningbo, Zhejiang province.

The Zeekr X is not built in Ningbo, but at a Geely plant in Chengdu, Sichuan province, which CnEVPost visited in April and saw the highly automated production line.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

The plant that produces the Zeekr X incorporates advanced manufacturing technologies including 5G, AI, and industrial big data to drive product development with a digital twin, Zeekr said in a press release today.

The factory's smart manufacturing system has a rigorous, comprehensive, and high standard of quality testing to ensure the quality of the Zeekr X, the company said.

As the delivery of the Zeekr X enters its countdown phase, Zeekr's channel touchpoints are in full swing, it said.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

As of May 31, Zeekr's direct stores are opening at an average rate of one store every two days and now cover 73 cities, including 304 stores, the company said.

Zeekr delivered 8,678 vehicles in May, up 100.42 percent from 4,330 vehicles in the same month last year and up 7.12 percent from 8,101 vehicles in April.

This is the fourth sequential increase in monthly deliveries for Zeekr, after a big drop in deliveries in January due to the shutdown of the Ningbo plant for upgrades.

Zeekr launches Zeekr X SUV to gain further share from market dominated by German luxury automakers

($1 = RMB 7.1155)

The post Zeekr sees 1st production cars of Zeekr X roll off line as delivery nears appeared first on CnEVPost.

For more articles, please visit CnEVPost.

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