The following is a blog post by Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO, originally published on LinkedIn:
Much as I love my 1973 Bronco, the comfort and convenience of our modern world usually beats the hell out of the good old days. Nostalgia is real, though, when it comes to the experience of filling up your car or truck.
The friendly attendant who asked “fill ’er up?” before cleaning your windshield, checking tire pressure, and adding a quart of 10W-30 has given way to the guy or gal behind plexiglass and your choice of lottery tickets and energy drinks.
In the early days of the personal auto, Americans wanted and needed the convenience, peace of mind and expert service of full-service filling stations. After taking two long all-electric road trips – one through the Western U.S. and the other across Europe – I’m convinced that the new generation of electric vehicle owners and would-be owners are also looking for convenience, peace of mind and expert service.
While we’ve been focused on making public charging easier – including giving Ford owners access to Tesla’s Superchargers with an adapter as part of BlueOval Charge Network – we have learned just how important home charging is to overall electric vehicle adoption in the U.S. Nearly 90% of shoppers say they would be more likely to buy an electric vehicle if they knew they could charge at home1. Filling up at home with electricity can be a significant cost save for many owners compared to filling up with gas. Problem is nearly half of them don’t know how home charging works1. Where do you buy the charger? Who installs it? What does it cost?
At the same time, we know many electric vehicle customers want 24/7 support from a real person with expertise if they are going to try new technology. Others want assurance on battery life. Yet our industry seems to want to answer these questions in a time-honored way – cash on the hood. Cheap lease deals on electric vehicles are popping up everywhere. Ford believes it will take more than jumbo rebates to truly break through with the estimated 19 million people in the U.S. interested in electric vehicles. It will take – you guessed it – convenience, peace of mind, and expert service. It will take a modern-day version of the friendly filling station, only this time you “fill ’er up” at home.
That’s the idea behind the Ford Power Promise that we are announcing today. Here are the details:
Home is Where the Charge is: It’s simple. Buy or lease a retail Ford Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning or E-Transit and take a complimentary home charger with you or have it delivered, and when you’re ready, an expert comes out to install it at no charge for a standard install. This takes the guesswork out of installation, including costs, to help you save time and money by filling up at home. Less stress, more convenience. If you’re a Ford Pro fleet customer, we have you covered with a commercial charging cash incentive.
On-the-Road Charging: Road trips don’t happen every day, but when you are on the road, you need to know where to fill up. Our BlueOval Charge Network automatically searches for chargers across various networks, including Electrify America and Tesla Superchargers and adds charging stops to your route via the Connected Navigation in the vehicle. With Plug and Charge, you plug in when you get there, and the payment is automatically made via your FordPass account. It’s that easy.
Battery Confidence: We’re confident in the quality of our batteries, and we want you to be confident, too. That’s why we provide an eight-year/100,000-mile high-voltage battery warranty for every Ford electric vehicle. Ford has your battery covered.
Ongoing Support and Guidance: We’re dedicated to providing you with the support you need whenever you need it, including complimentary roadside assistance if your vehicle’s range runs too low. We’re also expanding our 24/7 Ford advisor for electric vehicle support, so you’ll be talking or texting with real people. We are here when you need us.
Electric vehicles are an excellent choice for many people. They are fun to drive, quiet and smooth on the road. They can help save you time and money on gas. And for the first time in a long time, filling up just got easier. Now, if I can just get one of my kids to squeegee my windshield.
1 Ford survey was conducted by Mercury Analytics, a leading market research and consumer insights firm, with a total of 2,007 respondents in the U.S. from Sept 13-17, 2024.
SOURCE: Ford
