I Wanted to Buy A Ford, But Not So Much After This!

Ford made a terrible mistake and it’s costing them big-time. So, what remedy are they seeking? Why, more subsidies from taxpayers, of course.

I was thinking about buying a Ford Ranger shortly, but I think not after this (emphasis added):

Lisa Brankin [Uk Ford boss] sent a warning to the UK government that unless incentives arrive as part of the upcoming consultation in the zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) mandate – announced last week – hitting future targets will be “unsustainable.”

Under the current mandate, 22% of a car maker’s total UK sales must be EVs, a target that will rise to 28% in 2025, then incrementally to 80% by 2030, at which point new non-electrified cars will be banned from sale. For each model sold below that target figure, a £15,000 fine is issued…

Asked if the brand would therefore throttle back ICE sales in order to hit the 28% sales mix, Brankin said: “Success for us is selling EVs and that’s what we want to focus on. Our position is not that we’ll turn off the tap of ICE vehicles.”

To sell EVs, however, buyers must be given incentives, she said. “If you look at fleets, with benefit-in-kind taxation incentives, the [EV] sales mix for us is 45%, so it shows what we could see with wider incentives,” said Brankin.

She added that Ford is already applying heavy discounts to models just so it can hit current sales numbers, but “to push further to hit the ZEV targets” is “not sustainable”.

“We need some government incentives to promote momentum in the market,” she warned…

“The fundamental issue is that customer demand is not at the level of the ZEV mandate. We need to work on making it a more practical piece of legislation. But ultimately the issue the government has got to address is incentives.”

…Hans Schep, Europe boss of the brand’s commercial arm, Ford Pro, agrees, adding that the government needs to help the business because it is not “a philanthropist.”

Looking at this commentary from across the pond, there is more than one fundamental issue, and it’s one Ford doesn’t want to face. It’s simply this: you have to understand your enemy and realize you cannot possibly succeed with appeasement. The UK itself learned that 85 years ago or so and has since forgotten the lesson, but it's still very real. You can win by playing along with the parties who would be just as pleased to destroy you.

It’s nice, of course, to see Ford doesn’t plan on keeping customers from buying EVs, but that isn't going to work when you’re still pushing EVs and put your hand out repeatedely for taxpayer subsidies to do so because they make no sense otherwise and probably not at all. And, don't give us that crap about not wanting to be a philanthropist. No one is asking Ford to be one, except the government and when the company keeps promising to make EVs the government is going to keep asking.

The only solution is, to quote our President-Elect, fight, fight, fight. Big business has learned to like corporatism and living off subsidies. So, their natural inclination is to willingly do whatever the government asks on the condition that it fork over the money from you, me and everyone else to pay for the EVs, whether we all need or want one. The smarter strategy for Ford would be to say something along these lines:

‘We’re not making another damned EV unless the customer asks for it and is willing to pay the full cost. Moreover, UK ministers, if you don’t like it, we’re leaving and we're going to sue you in every possible venue for the damages on the way out.’

You might be thinking Ford can't afford to give up the UK market, but, of course, it can because it's losing money on the UK scheme. It’s also perfectly clear what the UK's Labour government wants is to get everyone but the country’s elites out of cars altogether anyway. Ford, in fact, should, combat the government by launching a campaign to attack the government's restriction of choice and proudly announce the company's commitment to choice, saying it will not get sucked into the whole scam.

That might work, which is why Ford won’t do it, of course. They prefer we be philanthropists and give them money. Sick.

#Ford #UK #EVs #Subsidies #Mandates #Europe #Corporatism #Taxes