Last year was a strange one in the car market, with certain segments exploding and others faltering. Supply chains, though more robust than during the pandemic, still caused all sorts of problems for automakers. One of the unanticipated outcomes from all of this distortion was that the EV Mustang Mach-E outsold the regular, gas-powered Mustang for the first time ever over a full year.
Is this the rise of the EV Mustang and the death of the ICE-powered Mustang? Not quite. It’s a little more complicated and interesting than all that. For all the excitement over hybrids, there are still pockets of growth for EV automakers. In particular, the strength of its EVs helped propel Volvo to its best year ever and close to its goal of selling 800,000 cars globally. This will also benefit Volvo as it takes in money from automakers facing carbon-related credits.
Volvo won’t benefit as much as Tesla, which could make more than $1 billion from European carmakers desperate to avoid EU fines. Does this mean there’s good money in electric cars? Not for everyone, which is why Honda is at least considering slowing down its EV investments a bit until it’s all sorted.
Long Live All Mustangs
I’m just going to say it: I love Mustangs. I don’t really believe in objectivity in journalism as much as I believe in transparency and I am transparently a Mustang guy. If I were building a cheap, fun track car I know that a 1LE last-gen Camaro is the smart choice. I also know I’d still probably go with the Mustang. Because of my age, I’m torn between an early ’90s police-spec SSP Mustang or a pre-New Edge 1994 or 1995 Cobra with the 5.0-liter V8 as my ultimate pony car.
Nostalgia aside, I’d be extremely pleased to own a new Mustang as well.
I’m not alone! People in America seem to love Mustangs, but right now they’re buying more of the electric variety, with the Mach-E crossover reaching 51,745, an increase of 27% year-over-year. At the same time, the gas-powered Mustang dropped 9.5% to just 44,003, which is a big drop.
What’s going on here? A few things that are indicative of the larger market.
First, and most obviously, people love crossovers. Calling Ford’s first big electric crossover the Mustang was a stroke of genius and, though it pissed some purists off, it was clearly the right move. Second, according to Ford’s Said Deep in an interview with Automotive News, there were some production issues with the Mustang. Third, and perhaps most significantly, Ford loses money on the Mach-E but is otherwise incentivized to sell them, so Ford slashed prices and made the car quite competitive from a pricing standpoint. A Mach-E is a good deal and, if you lease it, perhaps a great deal.
Does this spell the end for the gas-powered Mustang? Of course not. Gas-powered Mustangs are a good business, as pointed out in the Automotive News article linked above:
“Measuring Mustang’s success by just looking at volume misses the mark on the strength of this particular segment,” Deep said in a statement. “Mustang is a very profitable and vibrant business for Ford. We build passionate products for enthusiasts and that’s going to continue to grow.”
Sports car sales have shrunk as rival brands Chevrolet and Dodge abandoned the segment. Despite lower sales, the Mustang’s share of its segment rose about 10 percentage points last year, said Joe Bellino, the car’s brand manager. He said it remains profitable thanks to enthusiasts who spend big bucks on accessories and special editions and that reception to the seventh-generation model has been “relatively strong” since its 2023 launch.
“We’re happy with where Mustang is and, frankly, where we’re going,” Bellino told Automotive News. “It’s a critical part of our business and will continue to be a part of our business.”
That’s all well and good, but if Mustang is a critical part of your business it needs to expand. What does that mean? Ford has already shown dealers images of both a Mustang with four doors and an off-road variant. Adrian already sketched what a Mustang Raptor might look like and it’s dope as hell, y’all.
More Mustangs! More Mustangs! More Mustangs!
Volvo Almost Sells 800,000 Cars
Volvo had a middling year in the United States, falling just a little short of its 2023 sales, though the brand picked up some momentum towards the end of 2024. Given that Volvo said it was going to delay its electrification plans you might assume this means that the company had a bad year overall, but that’s not quite the case.
In the United States, sales of “electrified” models, including plug-ins, increased to 35.7% of all Volvos sold in December, about on par with the 34.3% sold during 2024. Globally, Volvo set a new sales record, hitting 763,389 overall, just shy of the company’s long-term goal of getting 800,000 annual sales.
A lot of this has to do with the popularity of Volvo’s electric vehicles abroad, which largely came from the capable and relatively affordable Volvo EX30. Everyone at The Autopian who has driven one of these things loves it, and it’s a shame it was delayed coming over to the United States, though that should be resolved soon.
Even better for Volvo, because of all of its EV sales, it looks like it’ll be able to sell some emissions credits to its cousins at Mercedes (Geely owns Volvo and also a large share of Mercedes-parent Daimler). According to Reuters, Polestar/Volvo/Smart will pool with Mercedes and likely make hundreds of millions of dollars in an effort to offset potential penalties for the German automaker.
Volvo isn’t alone…
Tesla Might Get $1 Billion From EU Emissions Rules
It’s convenient to me that the Euro and US Dollar are basically even right now because that means I can easily make the conversion calculation in my head when I’m writing these stories (or shopping for old Renault 5s on Leboncoin).
Utilizing the same deal as Volvo, Tesla could be the beneficiary of almost $1 billion from its competitors in Europe. Here’s Bloomberg on how that works:
The US company will pool the fleet of electric vehicles it sells this year with at least five other manufacturers, led by Toyota Motor Corp., Stellantis NV and Ford Motor Co., according to an EU document issued Tuesday. The arrangement allows carmakers to average out the emissions of their fleets, with those selling fewer EVs compensating companies like Tesla that over-comply with limits on carbon dioxide emissions.
“Tesla’s compensation could even exceed €1 billion if it monetizes its entire long CO2 position,” UBS analysts led by Patrick Hummel wrote in a report published Wednesday.
Tesla is the most obvious choice because it sells the most electric cars and is a friendly-ish carmaker from the United States. Bloomberg links to this paper from center-right European Parliament member Jens Gieseke, who argues that this is a weird position to be in:
“Our European brands are forced to check whether it’s a smarter idea to give the money to Tesla or to BYD,” said Jens Gieseke, a center-right lawmaker in the European Parliament who authored a paper last month calling on the commission to revisit its automotive policies. “This is not the best approach.”
There might not be much choice, as Tesla probably doesn’t sell enough cars to cover every automaker in Europe.
Honda Press Forward With US-Built EVs, But Maybe At A Slower Pace
Honda’s 0 Saloon Prototype was shown at CES this week and, thanks to some digging, we know it was also shown at the 2003 Tokyo Motor Show. Honda is committed to making this, along with the other prototype, in the United States quite soon.
The EV market in the United States continues to grow, albeit at a way slower pace than when Honda started making these plans. A Trump presidency and the potential loss of EV subsidies don’t make those prospects look much better. Does this mean the company is reconsidering? Not quite yet, according to Honda’s EV business manager in an interview with Bloomberg:
“Some investment plans may be delayed as growth slows down, but we haven’t changed our thinking on bringing more EVs to market,” Katsushi Inoue, a senior managing director in charge of EV business development, said in an interview. “EVs will go mainstream over a longer-term time frame.”
And, in the meantime, Honda sells a crap-ton of hybrids so it has some runway to figure it out.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
Apple Music suggested to me that I should listen to some Synth Pop and, at first, I did not believe Apple Music. Surely, I don’t listen to a lot of Synth Pop while I work, right? Apparently I do. Future Islands. MGMT. CHVRCHES, LCD Soundsystem. And if I listen to all that stuff maybe I want to listen to something honest, a Yaz record. Here’s Yaz doing “Don’t Go.”
The Big Question
Are you going to get mad when Ford makes a Mustang sedan?
Top Image: cammep/stock.adobe.com
Mad about another sedan on the market? Not a chance – I adore sedans and have not enjoyed their continuing disappearance. Will I buy one? Unlikely, but possible. Now, a shooting-brake version on the other hand…
Hey unrelated to any articles, but are you guys all okay with the fires out there?
Good question, everything im seeing from out there is WILD.
So far so good, though our merch shipper is without power and Griffin had to evacuate.
Dang. I hope they stay out of it.
(And I hope winds sod off and some gentle, non-ground-overwhelming rain comes in soon.)
Tell more about the R5 fetish we share…
Gimme one of the really late, Portuguese ones!
Cool… I’m stuck in first gen. One is an Alpine Turbo clone.
Calling the EV crossover a “Mustang” reminds me of the time around 1985 when seemingly half of Oldsmobile cars were called “Cutlass [something]”. Aside from the badge, there was absolutely no commonality between an N-body Cutlass Calais and a G-body Cutlass Supreme. But since the “Cutlass” name carried the panache, they called most everything a Cutlass.
Gosh, this was annoying, too. Why does no one learn from history in this industry?!
They’ve already made something not a pony car a Mustang. If it ever “mattered” it doesn’t anymore. And if that pushes them to think they can make a buck on a v8 rwd sedan, go for it. It makes me happy that such a thing exists. I like Chargers and 300s. Go for it Ford.
I’d love to see a Mustang sedan. That being said, I have a bad feeling it’ll only be offered with an automatic as it’ll be even more of a niche model than the coupe and they won’t want to spend the money certifying more than one transmission. Oh, and they’ll also make it rather expensive.
I’ve been on record before saying Ford using the Mustang name for the Mach E didn’t bother me one iota (curiously, the word ‘Mustang’ does not appear anywhere on either the gas or EV model). I don’t put much stock in names. Instead, I focus (no pun intended) on how the vehicle looks, drives, sounds and makes me feel when I drive it.
Bring back the Fusion sedan as Mustang EREV/PHEV. Base versions could compete with the Accord/Camry and the spicy versions with the Charger 4 door. There is market share that Ford is missing today.
this is the right take. Introduce the EREV/PHEV drivetrains on the (new) sedan version before porting them over to the pony car, like they’ve already started doing with BEV.
Mustang sedan. Sure. I can’t imagine getting upset at anything a marketing department comes up with. The entire point of marketing is to manipulate us into giving them our money so like … why actively engage?
[I’m not saying I’m immune to marketing, since it seeps into our conscious no matter what (Exhibit A: I still sing the Sam Bolotin jingle from the 90s). But I’m not going to post a screed on social media because Jaguar changed its font or whatever.]
I will not be mad when Ford builds a Mustang sedan. And wait…we’ve upgraded to when over if? If I recall correctly we don’t really have anything but rumors and an image of a CTV4 Blackwing going around Ford’s test track, presumably to be benchmarked. In fact I would be thrilled with this because I would buy one.
I love pony cars as well. I’m out and proud on that front, although a younger version of me definitely kept it to himself. Anyway my biggest issue with them has always been how hysterically impractical they are. A current Mustang is FIVE INCHES LONGER than a CRV. The fact that you can only fit two adults in one is an engineering crime.
The doors are so massive you can’t open them fully in normal parking spaces. The trunk space is meh. They’re laughably inefficient. That’s what my beef with them has always been and it’s what keeps them firmly in the category of “the wife will not approve one ever”.
Anyway you could turn one into a fastback sedan with little to no effort and it would suddenly be a pretty practical vehicle. The body lines are easy to figure out too, just copy and paste a second or third gen Panamera or an Audi A7 and voila. Mustang sedan. Give it to ME!
There’s also a hole in the market for a muscle sedan now that the Charger is dead. Dodge sold A LOT of them too. If Ford does the right thing and puts a V8 in the Mustang sedan as god intended (I do fear that it’s going to get the turbo V6 for artificial product differentiation and I’d be furious if it did) then all of those sales are theirs for the taking because no one wants an EV Charger and V8 beats straight 6 in the minds of the demographic that will buy them.
And I know this is a big ask, but dare to dream…can we get all wheel drive too? I would plunk down money tomorrow for a Mustang sedan with the Coyote V8, 10 speed, and all wheel drive as long as it’s priced similarly to the coupe. If you can give me all the track goodies too and keep it in the 50s it’ll be the icing on the cake. That thing would eat M3s for lunch. MURICA!
Make the inevitable Mustang sedan a Mustang Falcon. That would bring things full circle in a way. Since they can have a Mustang Mach-E, they can have a Mustang Falcon. Crib a page from the Mach-E by having Mustang badges where the Ford badge would go and write out Falcon.
Now that we’re daydreaming, slam a Mach-E and make it the Falcon hatchback. They could then have a full range of Mustang body styles.
Thunder-stang Falcon-bird Mach E-Type (Ford did own Jaguar for awhile). The logo would be the best ever: a winged Jaguar with a Falcon’s head flying through a storm-cloud with a bolt of lightning shooting out.
One word: Thundercougarfalconbird
Yes. And don’t anyone start with the whole “you can’t name it after two animals” thing, because they’ve already done that with the Mustang Cobra.
I hadn’t even thought of that but now all I’ll think about is it being the Ford HorseBird, or perhaps Pegasus would be better.
Mustang Brougham Grand Landau Coupe.
I hated the Mach-E until they released that cool Rally version… Can’t wait until those are depreciated!
Ford intends to make sub-brands out of all their vehicles with horse names, so a four door Mustang is an easy-in (certainly more palatable than a Mustang crossover). Bronco as a brand already has the Bronco Sport as a companion model, but I’m more interested in what they do with Maverick. I’m hopeful the recent filings for the Ranchero trademark will have something to do with Maverick, preferably a single cab version, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it were just a cosmetic package.
The crazier option, and to relate back to TBQ, is Ford makes a Ranchero version of the Mustang.
Woah, Yazoo on The Autopian! My two loves collide! I have loved Yazoo forever, in fact I’m seeing Alison Moyet (the singer) in Chicago next year.
I’m glad Apple Music recommended Synth Pop to you. Yazoo, Erasure, Haberdashery, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode – These bands are my driving music.
I’m glad to see Mach E sales doing well. It’s an objectively amazing vehicle and, frankly, probably the best non-Tesla EV, especially now that it has access to superchargers. I love my 2021 and wish I’d bought it sooner
A Mustang sedan does not bother me a bit.
I’d be ok but wish they wouldn’t call it a Mustang. I wish the Mach-e wasn’t called a Mustang, especially when they have a ton of names to use from their history, Falcon, Galaxie, Mainline, Cortina, Fairmont. They used the Maverick for the Ute instead of Ranchero so that’s even available, or come up with some new name like Furiousa.
Also nice choice on Yaz, I always find it funny that they broke up Vince goes and finds a guy with very similar range to Alison for Erasure, love both bands but just think it’s funny, could probably have Alison sing Erasure songs and sound great.
I did not know about the Yaz/Erasure connection and now of course I hear it plain as day and wonder how it never occurred to me before.
“New singer sounds like old singer” is pretty common, but props to Vince for changing the name instead of carrying on as Yaz Too or somesuch!
Don’t forget the crossover point between Yaz and Erasure was The Assembly, a one-off with Feargal Sharkey and Vince Clarke and a great song (“Never never”) that would have worked on either end. And Depeche’s first album with Vince Clarke pre-Yaz is also fantastic…
Not gunna lie, I was not happy with the Mach-E being called a Mustang. Heresy!
At this point Ford will milk the Mustang name for what it is worth. As long as the Mustang sedan is more SHO than base trim Taurus, I might be able to bear the pain. Even a Mustang SUV as long as it is more Raptor than base Escape.
As long as they keep making the sporty version they can make as many variations of the Mustang as they want. What would really be upsetting is if they drop the sports coupes and only offer Mustang SUVs and sedans. I wouldn’t be nearly as upset about the Eclipse Cross if Mitz still sold 2door turbo AWD Eclipses as well.
Who in their right mind would get mad about a new RWD V8 sedan these days?
They could call it the “Ford V10omous Sucks” and I’d probably still give it a test drive.
COTD
Seriously. Also gives Ford another avenue for selling cop cars.
I’m not going to be too disappointed, I had a 2013 Mustang new and generally liked it, aside from corrosion issues
A 4-door Mustang was on the drawing boards in the mid 1960s, the original plan was for a whole family of models, but the 2-doors sold so well the other ideas were dropped as they had enough issues keeping up with demand as it was
Also, my employer won’t reimburse mileage on 2-door passenger cars, so, as much as I prefer coupes, a Mustang sedan is the only way I’m going to be able to buy another one going forward. If they offer it in RWD and maybe some form of hybrid drivetrain, it would be at the top of the list, as those are two features glaringly missing from the new Charger sedan
I swear, every time you mention your mileage reimbursement, I learn about a new thing they won’t cover. I’m sure they give some rationalization for it, but they sound like a weirdo control freak, or they want a proper sales fleet but figured out they can force their employees to pay for it. They better be paying you BANK.
Nah – Ford produced a Mustang sedan concept in the early ’60s. It looked pretty cool.
I have been around Fords for 55 years and would have never thought they would have replaced the word “Car” with the word “Mustang” and named every type and style of car they sell as a Mustang.
Hey, it worked for the Cutlass, didn’t it?
Called it, Ford is the new Oldsmobile
And of course Oldsmobile continues to thrive…
Only if they don’t call it Falcon. But I really think the current Mustangs are far too expensive, $46,560 for a base GT is absurd, the 4 cylinder 10 speeds are lame as fuck and $8k over priced on all trims.
I need coffee, because I misread the headline as suggesting there were gas-powered Mach-Es and I felt like it gave me an aneurysm.
Slightly hot (warm?) take: the Mustang had a big drop because this “new” generation is pretty whelming. They didn’t do enough to update it, and (subjectively) the new design is worse than the old one
Like how the back end looks extremely Camaro-like?
For my money, Ford missed the chance to do a contemporary version of the Fox body – more ’80s wedgy and straight line, less reinterpreting the 60s.
Like changing Coke to taste like Pepsi. No one would do that, right?
It is noticeably less attractive than the old one, and moved to the flat screens everywhere school of interior design, which just doesn’t seem right for a Mustang, in my opinion anyway
The flat stuck-on screens look great in a say a Prius – very futuristic spacecraft-looking – but in a pony car, a lot less so. If you’re not going to completely reinvent the exterior styling, it looks discordant to do it on the inside.
Yeah, none of the recent Mustang interiors have been all that nice, but there was a certain honesty to the retro cheapness.
The new one, with its cheap-looking tacked on screens, has all the appeal of a Walmart electronics department.
I’m not going to disagree – I like the new design but dropping the manual from the Ecoboost means there is a huge gulf between a base Mustang and a base stickshift Mustang, which I think is a big downgrade.
That said, I think the bigger factor is the competition – there are still new Challengers and Camaros on the dealer lots. Obviously not that many today, but for a lot last year anyone who was interested in one had one last chance to buy one new (and probably at a discount).
Those are effectively gone now, and I expect a big jump in sales for 2025.
This current Mustang is at a greater dead-end than the 1973 Mustang and the 1978 Mustang II combined.
The styling is awful, it’s much too large for a 2+2, and it’s far too expensive because it’s on a bespoke platform.
Does a Ford sedan even need a name? It’s not like we’d be confusing it with a smaller or larger Ford sedan.
If anything, take a page from the far more popular truck nomenclature, Call it the Ford S100, S150 or something like that. And for high-end models – the S150 LTD, S150 Platinum, S150 Titanium, etc.
COTD: Ford S150. That’s just pure marketing magic. You’re hired!!!!
None of the modern pony car designs did much for me. I also don’t want to be associated with the stereotype of modern Mustang owners who can’t leave a cars and coffee without being stupid. And my final get-off-my-lawn gripe is the exhausts are simply loud and harsh, with no real tone.
I thought I was the only one with this opinion. Turns out it is a consensus.