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Ford’s global director of electrification, Mark Kaufman participated in a Q&A the other day and in it he mentions how Ford isn't worried about low gas prices affecting their EV sales. I agree with him, at this point people that are interested in buying an EV aren't going to change their mind just because gas prices drop for a brief period.
“A lot of the different CO2 demands from around the world are going to drive us that way,” Kaufman said. “Ford's perspective is in order to meet that demand, you've got to really come up with a compelling reason for the customers to buy—so exciting products, great capability, new functionality that you can't quite get with a conventionally powered vehicle for us are all ways that we can help manage that transition to the end of the decade.”
And that’s why Ford doesn’t see the success of its EVs like Mach-E as being tethered to the price of gas, he said.
“We think...people are buying them because they're great products first and maybe that cost of ownership on some products, like the commercial van, might be a little bit more of a consideration,” he said. “If you were only relying on cost of ownership as your main reason for purchase, this (very low gas prices) could be quite disruptive.”
Generally speaking, gas prices and EV sales have been detached. While an extreme upward spike of gas prices might boost electric-car sales, there’s little or no precedent to show that a sudden drop in gas prices—like earlier this year—will cause sales of EVs to fall.
A lasting economic downturn is a greater concern, and so far reports are split on whether we’ll recover with electric-car sales gaining or losing ground in market share. In April, the market research firm Wood Mackenzie was one of a minority predicting that EVs could lose ground this year globally.
www.greencarreports.com
“A lot of the different CO2 demands from around the world are going to drive us that way,” Kaufman said. “Ford's perspective is in order to meet that demand, you've got to really come up with a compelling reason for the customers to buy—so exciting products, great capability, new functionality that you can't quite get with a conventionally powered vehicle for us are all ways that we can help manage that transition to the end of the decade.”
And that’s why Ford doesn’t see the success of its EVs like Mach-E as being tethered to the price of gas, he said.
“We think...people are buying them because they're great products first and maybe that cost of ownership on some products, like the commercial van, might be a little bit more of a consideration,” he said. “If you were only relying on cost of ownership as your main reason for purchase, this (very low gas prices) could be quite disruptive.”
Generally speaking, gas prices and EV sales have been detached. While an extreme upward spike of gas prices might boost electric-car sales, there’s little or no precedent to show that a sudden drop in gas prices—like earlier this year—will cause sales of EVs to fall.
A lasting economic downturn is a greater concern, and so far reports are split on whether we’ll recover with electric-car sales gaining or losing ground in market share. In April, the market research firm Wood Mackenzie was one of a minority predicting that EVs could lose ground this year globally.

Ford isn’t worried about low gas prices fueling EV avoidance
Ford's top executive for electric vehicles notes that if EV sales are tied to ownership costs above all else, they're doing something wrong.