The highly-desirable Ford Maverick Hybrid pickup truck is about to get substantially more expensive. First reported by Ford Authority and confirmed by Ford to the Drive, the very attractive 2.5-liter hybrid powertrain will become a $1,500 optional extra on the Maverick for the 2024 model year. When combined with a general MSRP increase, this means that the price of the currently-base Maverick XL Hybrid will jump $2,305 from $24,190 to $26,495 including freight in one model year. For context, a 2022 Maverick XL Hybrid started at $21,490 including freight, so we’re looking at an apples-to-apples increase of $5,005, or 23.3 percent, over just two model years. That’s a huge price hike, but it’s not a terrible deal yet.
For context, let’s take a look at where other entry-level hybrid vehicles land. The 2024 Maverick XL Hybrid splits the difference nicely between a $24,145 2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE and a $28,545 base-model 2023 Toyota Prius. The 2023 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid Blue stickers for $25,665 including freight, or only $830 less than the 2024 Maverick XL Hybrid. As for the 2023 Kia Niro Hybrid LX, it starts at $27,915. While not the $20,000 mic-drop it once was, the 2024 Ford Maverick Hybrid will still be one of the cheapest new hybrid vehicles on the market. Value over the competition is great, but what about over the gasoline-only Maverick? Let’s run the numbers and see if things break even on fuel savings alone.
According to the analysts at iSeeCars, the average new car-buying American kept their new car for 8.4 years before the pandemic. While a squeeze in new car supply may have bumped that number up a touch, we’ll stick with the 8.4-year metric as it’s the most current data available. According to the Federal Highway Administration, the average American drives 13,476 miles per year. If we multiply that by 8.4 years of vehicle ownership, we end up with a reasonably-inferred 113,198.4 miles traveled by the average first owner of a vehicle.
The EPA rates the Maverick Hybrid at 37 mpg combined, 12 mpg more than the front-wheel-drive Ecoboost model. This theoretically works out to 3,059 gallons of fuel used during the first ownership period to the Ecoboost model’s 4,528 gallons of fuel, meaning a 1,469 gallon delta. For the Ecoboost model to simply break even on fuel costs assuming a commute of mixed driving means that gas would need to cost $1.02 per gallon for the next 8.4 years. Yeah, I’d say the hybrid powertrain is worth it in this scenario.
Mind you, there’s always a whatabout-ism that contradicts popular reason, so let’s run through an extreme. What if you’re a traveling photocopier sales rep and drive almost exclusively on the highway? That’s where things narrow as hybrids are inherently more efficient in the city than on the highway. The Maverick Hybrid is rated for 33 mpg highway, or just three mpg more than the front-wheel-drive gasoline-only model. This means that over 8.4 years of exclusively highway driving, it should use 3,430 gallons to the Ecoboost model’s 3,773 gallons, resulting in a delta of just 343 gallons. To break even in this scenario, gas would need to average $4.37 per gallon over the next 8.4 years, which might not happen in low cost-of-living areas. If you live in, say, Cleveland, where regular gas has been well under $4 per gallon for the past eight months, there’s a chance you might not break even on fuel costs alone if all your driving happens on the interstate.
For most people, the $1,500 surcharge for the 2024 Ford Maverick Hybrid will be money well-spent. While not the screaming deal it once was, it’s still an entry-level hybrid vehicle. Of course, the big gamble will still be actually getting a Maverick Hybrid. As Kevin Williams detailed, Ford’s having trouble building Mavericks fast enough to satiate buyers, and current 2023 model reservation holders may get bumped to 2024 model year vehicles with some form of price protection in place, similar to what happened to many 2022 model reservation holders. Fingers crossed, then.
(Photo credits: Ford)
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the $5k price increase over original MSRP is very discouraging.. but as Thomas points out it’s still a competitive price for a entry-level hybrid. So I might yet try to get my 2024 order in on July 17. I await with interest the dealer’s pricing as I wonder if it will be possible to get near MSRP ..
Hmmm, once again it seems dealer mark-ups are harming the sales of a good vehicle. How much longer before the big car companies begin lobbying for the right to direct sales to customers?
This is why the lightly used market can still be a great place to get a good car without all the dealer nonsense. I just got a 2018 Acura MDX with under 11K miles! No negotiating, no markups, scammy ‘engine for life’ warranties, under-coats, clear-coats or any of the other crap a dealer tries to push on its customers.
When direct sales become a reality dealers have no one to blame but themselves.
These are MSRPs, not dealer markups.
Nothing is harming the sales of the Maverick. Ford has consistently had to roll over orders from one model year to the next each year due to not being able to produce enough units.
The problem is not how many they CAN build, the problem is how many they WILL build. It’s the new bait and switch.
funny, the original 20K unit was touted at 42 MPG…now the reality sets in. they lost money on BEV so had to flip flop pricing, Ice is cheaper and MPG is much closer than expected.
Yeah no. You can’t find them at all and the ones you can find are sitting on lots with $5-10k markups. I finally gave up and purchased a Santa Cruz. $29k with a lot of toys. The Mavericks were sitting at $40k.
Price Yikes!
I’m supposed to be putting in my order for a 2024 model in the next couple of weeks. I wish someone would roll out a competitor hybrid compact truck like this. I’m sure it’s coming at some point, but…
considering the Hyundai full EV intrusion into the market, it would make sense to make a Sante Cruz Hybrid or even full EV soon.
There are rumors of Toyota/GM/RAM testing a Maverick competitor so I hope at least one of them is true.
Whats your use case? I loved the idea of the hybrid maverick for small garden supply runs and taking stuff to the dump etc but the fact of the matter is – I’ve lived 20+ years without a pickup truck and I really don’t need it. The low sticker was the intrigue. It’s gone. Get a new prius and enjoy some real gasoline savings. Oh and keep your cars for 15-20 yrs, modern cars are damn reliable and aint nobody need a car payment the rest of their lives.
I’ve owned enough Ford’s to stay away but I’m still AMAZED noone else has brought out an ‘affordable’ small hybrid truck, as if people haven’t been screaming for good gas mileage utility.
Gotta at least give it to Ford for that.
this is much less affordable now, the dealers get less from their mark ups I suppose. But you still cannot find the lowish cost units outside of fleets.
The market has been screaming for this for over a decade. It’s actually inconceivable how little the manufacturers know about what consumers will buy.
Inconceivable!
There’s rumors that the Maverick’s success has the other companies looking at the segment, but the chicken tax is still an issue, so they have to really commit if they want to introduce a new vehicle or adapt an existing one to try and get into the market.
I AM SCAM. I AM SCAM. SCAM-I-AM.
THAT SCAM-I-AM! THAT SCAM-I-AM! I DO NOT LIKE THAT SCAM-I-AM!
DO YOU LIKE FORD’S MAVERICK PLAN?
I DO NOT LIKE IT, SCAM-I-AM.
I DO NOT LIKE FORD’S MAVERICK PLAN.
WOULD YOU LIKE IT NOW OR THEN?
I WOULD NOT LIKE IT NOW OR THEN,
I WOULD NOT LIKE IT ANY WHEN.
I DO NOT LIKE FORD’S MAVERICK PLAN.
I DO NOT LIKE IT, SCAM-I-AM.
WOULD YOU LIKE IT AT A DEALER?
WOULD YOU LIKE IT AS A FOUR-WHEELER?
I WOULD NOT LIKE IT AT A DEALER.
I WOULD NOT LIKE IT AS A FOUR-WHEELER.
I DO NOT LIKE IT NOW OR THEN,
I DO NOT LIKE IT ANY WHEN.
I DO NOT LIKE FORD’S MAVERICK PLAN.
I DO NOT LIKE IT, SCAM-I-AM.
WOULD YOU LIKE IT AT MSRP?
WOULD YOU LIKE IT WITH A WARRANTY?
NOT AT MSRP. NOT WITH A WARRANTY.
NOT AT A DEALER. NOT AS A FOUR-WHEELER.
I WOULD NOT LIKE IT NOW OR THEN.
I WOULD NOT LIKE IT ANY WHEN.
I DO NOT LIKE FORD’S MAVERICK PLAN.
I DO NOT LIKE IT, SCAM-I-AM.
WOULD YOU? COULD YOU? IN A CAR?
JUST SIGN IT, SIGN IT ON THAT LINE THAR.
I WOULD NOT, COULD NOT, IN A CAR.
YOU MAY LIKE IT, YOU WILL SEE.
YOU MAY LIKE IT, THO’ IT SURE AIN’T FREE!
I WOULD NOT, COULD NOT, DON’T YOU SEE?
NOT IN A CAR! YOU LET ME BE.
I DO NOT LIKE IT AT MSRP,
I DO NOT LIKE IT WITH A WARRANTY.
I DO NOT LIKE IT AT THE DEALER.
I DO NOT LIKE IT AS A FOUR-WHEELER.
I DO NOT LIKE IT NOW AND THEN,
I DO NOT LIKE IT ANY WHEN.
I DO NOT LIKE FORDS MAVERICK PLAN.
I DO NOT LIKE IT, SCAM-I-AM.
YOU DO NOT LIKE IT, SO YOU SAY.
YOU’VE GOT NO CHOICE, ANYWAY!
TRY IT AND YOU MAY, I SAY.
SCAM, PLEASE,JUST LET ME BE,
I’LL NEVER LIKE IT, YOU WILL SEE.
I DO NOT FORD’S MAVERICK PLAN.
SO, FU, FU , SCAM-I-AM!
Well played.
What?
Very impressive. I look forward to the illustrated edition of “Green Trucks and Scam.”
Say what? Did the new styling raise the price that much? I could swear just like a year ago I looked at new Priuses and they started around $23k (MSRP). I highly doubt that was with incentives either since Toyota has been selling hybrid everything as fast as they can build them. $28 is more like what I remember the AWD or the Prime or some other higher trim starting at.
It will be interesting to see how the Maverick pricing shakes out. When it was one of the cheapest vehicles you could buy, period, it was easy to overlook the cost-cutting they did on it. When you start pricing it with other hybrids that are much nicer in a lot of ways that equation changes…
It did jump, but by like $3k. That price includes destination (which varies by region for Toyota); 2022 Prius was $24625 plus destination, and 2023 is $27450 plus the destination charge. Part of that is probably also exaggerated by the discontinuation of the base L model, which knocked off a few features like blind-spot monitor.
Ford can get in the sea. This was cool when the hybrid was the default option
Fuelly is showing maverick mpg figures that are a bit spread out but seem to back up the EPA claims.
Don’t forget that you need the non-hybrid to get AWD or semi usable towing, which are pretty big deals for some people. Plus, I’d wager the turbo is going to be better to drive. Those points warrant spending a few extra bucks in gas vs the hybrid. How much extra is dependent on the consumer and use conditions.
Demand greatly outstrips supply. I can’t fault ford for raising the price and honestly, if other car makers see ford making a nice margin, they’ll be more inclined to bring out competitors. So it’s not the end of the world, and I don’t think this counts as the same thing they pulled on the lightening.
Yeah the hybrid not getting AWD is pretty bad for these.
Under an AMA r/FordMaverickTruck did, one of the project engineers said nothing was preventing them from using the Escape’s hybrid AWD system with the Maverick’s, since they share a platform. I expect when sales start to slump (if that ever happens), the blue oval will release AWD and PHEV versions.
It also might become necessary by 2035 for Maverick gen 2/3 when the pure ICE bans go into effect in CA and other states. Hopefully, when that happens, the PHEV can help juice the hybrid towing numbers. Like how the Rav4 Prime can do 2,500 pounds, up from the standard hybrid’s 1,750 pounds.
the coolant sipping ecoboost 4’s are not something you keep past warranty, so the 2.5 NA is actually a bonus in the hybrid. but then their is the hybrid side of it. already getting hybrid units with dead 12v batteries, the battery is under the back seat so you can i suppose use a jump pack and leave it connected for a bit I guess, but I though the BEv/Hybrid big batteries were supposed to trickle charge the 12V to avoid the AGM ford Battery plague in everything else.
I think I ended up paying around $34K for my well optioned Lariat ecoboost and I honestly feel like I got a deal. It can get you around 28MPG in the city if you stay out of the turbo (good luck with that) and in the mid 30’s on the highway. It’s very comfortable on long trips and has a decently quiet cab with the acoustic windshield and all that.
I just came back from a camping trip where I towed a Airstream Basecamp from Los Angeles to Mammoth CA and the tow package on that little truck impressed the hell out of me. I ended up getting around 18mpg for the whole trip with a fully loaded bed, two adults and a dog and I was pretty happy with that considering the altitude change and I was almost at max tow capacity.
There are days I regret not getting the hybrid but I’ve used my FX4 and tow package enough to justify the added cost.
That’s pretty dang good-what’s the length and weight on that trailer?
My f150 is getting about 19 highway when I leave the tow mirrors on (hopefully that bumps up a tic when I finally wear out the wrangler duratracs). Hook up our 24’ total, 5000ish pound camper, and I’m getting about 10. My wife wants to go bigger but JFC it’s all ridiculous as is.
It’s just a hair over 16ft long and with full water, two tanks of propane and just some standard living stuff it probably weighs in around 3,000lbs.
It’s a great little camper with plenty of room for two and a dog but that price tag can get crazy if you keep checking the options button.
One thing I’d be careful of in this analysis is using EPA numbers for fuel economy. Modern hybrid powertrains and turbo fours seem to be designed for the test rather than real world usage. It used to be you could easily beat the EPA numbers in real world use. This is especially true of the highway numbers. Indeed, Car and Driver’s test route saw 30mpg for highway on the hybrid.
I live in the city and I have never once come close to hitting EPA city ratings even when absolutely dogging my cars to try to get good mileage. My GTI struggled to even hit 20 while commuting and my Kona N frequently returns city mileage in the mid to high teens…or even worse on exceptionally bad traffic days. Over my ownership the GTI averaged about 23-24 MPG overall and through 8,000 miles my Kona is averaging 20.7.
Neither are good. I’m an extreme example as I live in the DC area which has some of the worst traffic in the entire country…but still, in my real world experience EPA ratings are absolute baloney and boosted 4 poppers really only do better than bigger NA engines when driving on a sparsely populated highway.
My wife’s 2015 CRV averages right around 20 MPG with an NA 4 cylinder and a damn CVT…a full 6 MPG less than its city ratings. I’m generally pro EV, pro hybrid, pro reducing emissions in general but once you factor in the additional complexity of turbo engines, CVT transmissions, etc I’m really not sure that the forced switch to smaller engines is really having the effect it was supposed to, just like I’m not sure that forcing everyone into BEVs will either.
TL:DR: EPA ratings are a scam
Very much this. The biggest predictor of a car’s fuel economy in the city will be its mass and engine type. For the highway, it will be its aerodynamics, with engine type and mass playing a much smaller role. Modern cars very much are designed for the EPA tests and not the real world. C4 Corvettes, real world, are getting 30 mpg highway in stock tune and can be tuned for 40 mpg, Which is comparable to 4-cylinder cars of similar mass and CdA values.
Want to improve fuel economy and reduce resource consumption? These complicated turbo nightmares with unrepairable CVTs aren’t the answer. We need simple cars with minimal features/electronics that are easily repaired with basic tools, built to last for many decades if maintained, and whose design focuses on mass reduction and drag reduction, before looks.
We could have V8 musclecars getting over 40 mpg highway and maybe 20-ish mpg city, 70+ mpg gasoline-electric hybrids, and EV sedans getting 200+ mile range on 25-30 kWh battery packs if the industry did this. And if they were built to last and be repairable without exclusive dealership tools, we’d be filling up the landfills with less toxic crap.
“We need simple cars with minimal features/electronics “
LOL… as if people will spend their money on that. Vehicle buying is not about needs. It’s about WANTS.
And people won’t want what you are pushing.
I do, actually.
But you are not most people. You’re weird. Like us.
OK. Your logic is inescapable.
if it makes your point any more, I currently have a manual trans 392 Challenger that averages 20MPG. it gets up into the 25-26 range at 75 on the freeway but rarely goes below 19 around town.
If I wind up in another ICE vehicle it’s going to be the Integra Type S, a certified 6 cylinder Porsche (I can put up with a Macan S but I’m not dealing with another goddamn EA888), or simply something with a V8. I love the IS500 on paper but dropping almost 70k on an ancient platform like that is a tough pill to swallow.
I’ll be curious to see how a 6 or 8 cylinder does in actual city driving, because I wonder if it’s actually worse in practice than my turbo 4 poppers have been. Like I said…my GTI got ridiculous highway mileage (high 30s) and even my comparably thirsty Kona N manages to exceed its EPA highway ratings and deliver low 30s on road trips…but the majority of my driving is in the city anyway where the benefits of a smaller engine clearly don’t actually come to fruition all that much.
I really dislike where the EPA has pushed all the manufacturers for this reason. I also had a GTI (2006.5 year MK5) for 9 years and struggled with my commute MPGs. All of the turbo 4 engines of the era kicked in the turbo with all but the lightest touch and my wife’s 2019 Volvo XC40 is no different.
I traded my GTI for a NA flat six engine in a Porsche Boxster and increased the HP but also increased the MPGs in city MPGs. Highway MPGs may have been about the same or the GTI got slightly better.
Real world MPGs should matter if the goal is actually using less fuel and better emissions (yes I know that’s not always directly related).
Most Maverick Hybrid owners get at least the EPA rating if not 40 MPG+. I’ve got slightly oversized ATs on mine and average 40 with a spread of 43 in the summer and dipping down to 37 at the lowest this past winter.
Was it easier? I feel like it’s always been a moving target, maybe easier on some cars while others took concerted efforts depending on the type of car. I’d say it probably has gotten less easy as turbos and stop-start and all that made for some false promises – but those are also a bit more of an emissions play but that doesn’t translate to anything tangible to the consumer so they have to lean on the supposed mpg benefits. I have wondered if including stop-start gets an mpg bonus on the rating, like the upshift indicator lights on manual-equipped cars used to. GM sure loved that light; including it would let the manufacturer tack on an extra mile per gallon on the rating.
I know the gap between manual vs. auto is gone for most cars now, but I still think that helps. In my 6MT GTI, I don’t drive it lightly, and while I’ve only ever gotten over the 33mpg highway rating a couple times and usually on roads where I keep it below 70, I’ve only ever averaged below the 25mpg city rating a couple times too and even then by ~1 mpg. My lifetime average is 27.8, right at the combined rating of 28, so I can’t complain. IIRC it’s a bit better than my ’07 Accord 2.4/5MT got, which drove a bit more highway and weighed about the same.
The 1.6T hybrid in Hyundai/Kia products has also underperformed in a lot of reviews, which is disappointing. My dad has a 2017 Niro (1.6 NA) that has the larger tires and regularly exceeded its 40mpg highway rating over much of the time when he had a long highway commute, although it tends to be more sensitive to seasonality and tire pressure more recently at least after he put new tires on it.
I ordered a XLT Hybrid back in September of 22, aaaannnnddddd I’m still waiting. Got an email from Ford last week saying to order a 24 in case my 23 doesn’t get built. Ford said that they will refund the difference in price between the 23 and 24.
Not great but not bad.
Not bad ?
Sidestepping the, um, entertaining discussion below; if the hybrid is now an option, what’s the new base engine and price of that setup? (“It’s a car show, Jeremy”)
EcoBoost FWD with the exception of the Lariat which can only get the EB with AWD.
I know the break-even point always assumes you have to pay off the upcharge while you own it, but I’d be interested to see what used residuals are like in 8 years, if the hybrid fetches any premium then. Right now, I’m showing Black Book forecast a $1000 premium *for the 2.0* at 60 months, although being Canada, this is 2.0/AWD vs hybrid/FWD.
On that note, it looks like the hybrid is currently still cheaper up here, but it’s now only a $500 upgrade to get 2.0/AWD.
The whole Maverick rollout has been a huge clusterfuck. I had cash in hand ready to buy in 2022 but gave up after getting the round around from local dealers. Fuck Ford, I’ll never deal with them again.
Hyundai will gladly take your money for a Santa Cruz
The Santa Cruz:
1). Needs an electrified option. Traditional hybrid, PHEV, BEV, whatever they can do at this stage. But the powertrains on offer are too thirsty.
2). Needs to be made less sporty. They really missed the mark with the turbo ones by pairing them with their performance oriented DCT. I have the same transmission in a different state of tune in my N and it’s amazing for performance driving and flying down the highway but in bumper to bumper traffic and low speed maneuvering it’s really unrefined and jerky, particularly when it comes to shifts between first and second.
Can I live with those compromises in a hot hatch? Hell yeah I can, but would I want to deal with them in a trucklet? No way Jose.
I have yet to hear anyone that liked the styling on the Santa Cruz. I don’t mind it but I think for your average buyer that is a big turn off.
I liked the concept’s styling. The production vehicle, not so much.
Yeah, the Santa Cruz has been pricey by comparison, but now the more loaded Mavericks are inching closer and closer to the upper-trim SCs.
My Uncle was super excited to buy one of these when they came out. I don’t what spec he ordered, but I do know he placed that order clear back in September of last year. He then canceled that same order just a few weeks ago on account of the long wait and terrible communication from both Ford and the dealer. He already has a RAM Warlock he really likes, and now he’s planning on ordering a Rampage to go with it.
Way to win one for Stellantis, Ford!
My buddy went through Ford’s ordering process for a Bronco and was unbelievably stoked about it. Then his order got delayed several times, Ford and the dealership didn’t communicate with him about it unless they pressed him, and when they were finally ready to build his car the price had magically increased by $5,000.
He told them to fuck off and bought a new Kia Sorento for MSRP that he’s in love with. Way to win one for Kia, Ford!
…seriously though, I’m absolutely never buying a Ford after how the last few years have gone. The company is one giant scam that’s been propped up by taxpayer money for entirely too long. Fuck too big to fail corporations. If your goods and services suck ass let the market do its thing. Isn’t that what capitalism is SUPPOSED to be about?
Ford? Taxpayer money? Wait until you find out about Chevy and Dodge……..
Ford is taking the “no lowballers, I know what I got” thing too far. Like that same guy who still has the same ad up 9-12 months later, they’ll find themselves in an uncomfortable position with all the FAFO games.
Aaaand…Here. We. Go.
I was >this< close to putting in an order for one the last time the order books were open. Had an appointment set up and everything. My daughter got sick and had to be picked up that day, and I was getting cold feet anyway so called to let them know I wouldn’t be coming in. Sort of regretting that now, but the dealer wouldn’t commit to any sort of price protection at the time and I was worried about getting bumped to the next MY and having to pay more. C’est la vie I guess.
The first go-round, I had the paperwork done and had a price lock at invoice price. I got convinced that I didn’t want/need one and have kicked myself ever since (but not quite enough to get in last time). I’ve been strongly considering jumping back in this time, though I have to reconsider the color options, since the cyber orange is apparently going away.
Are there any content changes to go along with the price increase? As I recall, sure, you could get a 2022 for less than $20K if you didn’t want, say, cruise control.
Word is that some of the options packages are rolled into the base models to limit build variation (and they’ve reduced the total number of colors slightly), but that there is some pricing increase beyond that. I’m irritated that the hybrid is now an upcharge, but I get it.
Admittedly, I haven’t been looking at the XL, but the word on the street is that Lariat has rolled the lux package, bedliner, and copilot upgrade all into the base model, so it starts out pretty much fully loaded (I think the sunroof is still optional).
Edit: looks like the XL doesn’t get any notable changes, so the price increase is just a straight increase.
Of the one I can even find, none are less than 32k due to dealer add-ons and “market price adjustments” *jerk off motion*
Most dealers will order at MSRP. It’s just the inventory allotment that gets the markups, at least around here.
Ordering is its own set of problems since Ford is only just now “increasing manufacturing output to meet consumer demand”. You save on the markups, but how long are you having to wait for it to roll out of the factory?
Sure, you’re waiting an indefinite period, but that’s the tradeoff. Besides, I’d rather order what I want than settle for whatever’s on the lot. That said, they definitely should be shifting production to match demand. Imagining that the take rate on the hybrid would be so low was just a game they played. At this point, they absolutely know that people want the efficient one.
If I could order a Toyota or Lexus tomorrow at MSRP, in the colors I want, with the options I want, and without the $2000 in accessory bullshit (floor mats I’ll replace with Weathertech on Day 1, door edge guards that look horrible, $80 USB cables, etc.) every single fucking car seems to have; I’d gladly wait 6-9 months to get one.
Seems like Ford is screwing up the whole “deliver an actual truck” part for a lot of Maverick (and Bronco still I think) buyers.
Manufacturing isn’t just as simple as ordering more servers on the AWS cloud. Ford did start up a third shift at the Hermosillo factory this summer, though, that should increase production.
Ford: wow, these are selling like hotcakes. We better jack the price up for more profit.
Consumer: I remember when these were supposed to cost $20K, now it takes $30K
You’re totally correct. Can you blame Ford, though? Mavericks – especially the hybrid – sell faster than Ford can make them. Since it’s a low-margin car it is not really worth putting money into increased production. Might as well increase prices, pocket the extra money, and sell just as many little trucks.
But yeah it sucks for consumers.
Well put. And the good news is that Ford will eventually back off this as buyers’ COVID-era spending power dries up. Right now, there’s still a fair amount of people with money to spend on goods after 2+ years of not consuming services…but that’s coming to a end, fast.
So true. Student loan repayment starts up again in September to boot. That’s $16 billion a month getting removed from the economy. Moreover, removed from the people who make enough to have a little disposable income left. 43 million people owe an average of $393 a month (although the median is $210ish a month). My cloudy crystal ball is saying the 2023 holiday sales will be fantastic this year. I’m looking for good recipes for crow as well.
If demand is more than supply, the obvious business thing to do is to raise prices to lower demand and make more money per unit.
Still a great deal, still can’t get one at that price.
Not very useful to anyone but the price-gouging dealerships that seem to be buying up and consolidating so many of the honest dealers. You know, the ones who used to get you the vehicle you wanted, with the options you wanted, and would take a firm “no” if you turned down the add-ons that padded their margins?
This, both originally and now, is cheap enough that I would reluctantly risk owning a Ford again if I had not purchased something else to satisfy my vehicle needs, and could wait the year or so it’ll take to actually get one at MSRP.
Ford can proceed to the all you can eat shit buffet