Ford targets EV ‘fence-sitters’ with offer of free home charger and installation

Today, the institution launched a caller inaugural called the “Ford Power Promise,” successful which it volition supply a suite of benefits to customers who bargain oregon lease a caller EV. And main among them is simply a complimentary location charger for each caller customers, arsenic good arsenic the costs of modular installation.

The charger that’s being offered is the company’s Ford Charge Station Pro, a $1,310 Level 2 charger that comes with a modular CCS1 connector. Ford declined to enactment a monetary worth connected the installation but said it would screen costs up to 60 amps of powerfulness and 80 feet of ligament run. Customers who request to upgrade their location electrical sheet earlier the installation, however, volition request to screen those costs themselves.

Ford’s escaped charger and installation connection starts October 1st and extends done the extremity of the year. It volition lone beryllium disposable to customers who bargain oregon lease a caller EV during that clip period. For customers who bargain oregon lease a caller EV but already person a location charger installed, Ford volition supply them with the currency equivalent of $2,000.

“We’re the lone ones doing this,” said Becca Anderson, elder manager of lawsuit acquisition astatine Ford’s Model e division. “This means little accent and much convenience for our customers, making their location charging set-up up easy.”

Like astir automakers, Ford is struggling to get much customers to see switching to electric. Even though the institution is the fig 2 seller of EVs successful the US, down Tesla, and its EV income proceed to grow, the institution is inactive confronting a batch of headwinds successful the signifier of myths and misconceptions astir EV ownership.

“We person a batch of customers unfastened to electric,” said Martin Delonis, elder manager of strategy astatine Ford Model e, “but they’re sitting connected the fence.”

According to marketplace probe conducted by Ford and Boston Consulting Group, these alleged “fence-sitters” accidental they are disquieted astir things similar EV range, artillery health, and the wide outgo of ownership. But they’re besides motivated by “quality and convenience,” which aligns past much intimately with state and hybrid shoppers arsenic opposed to aboriginal adopters.

“We’ve done the probe and recovered that it’s not scope anxiousness we’re dealing with,” Delonis added. “It’s alteration anxiety.”

Most customers overestimate however overmuch scope they’ll request successful a vehicle, conscionable arsenic they often neglect to spot the benefits of charging a conveyance astatine home. They presume they’ll request to usage nationalist chargers much often than they do. And they falsely judge that the artillery volition deterioration retired earlier the vehicle’s end-of-life.

To assistance easiness their concerns, Ford is upping the ante with caller benefits, similar a escaped location charger, and immoderate aged ones that customers whitethorn not beryllium alert of. Ford said it volition present connection 24/7 telephone and substance enactment for each EV owners who whitethorn person questions oregon concerns astir their caller purchase. The institution is besides highlighting a preexisting eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty for the artillery of the vehicle.

And to code unease astir charging, Ford is emphasizing its Blue Oval Charging Network, which includes a fig of third-party charging providers, arsenic good arsenic the Tesla Supercharger network. Ford has been racing to get Tesla adapters to its EV customers truthful they tin entree Superchargers crossed the country. Ford is “ramping up production” of the adapters aft immoderate archetypal delays implicit the summer, Delonis said.

While Ford has seen its EV income turn 4th implicit quarter, the institution is inactive struggling to rein successful costs. The institution reported a $1.3 cardinal loss for its Model e EV part successful the archetypal 4th of 2024 and a $1.1 cardinal nonaccomplishment successful the 2nd quarter. It besides canceled a planned three-row electrical SUV and delayed a caller electrical motortruck until 2027.