The recently announced Ford Power Promise partially closes the gap with Tesla because Tesla has dramatically reduced its user support. However, Ford will underperform its potential without more powerful and better-executed marketing.
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BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles) have been in the market in volume for over a decade now, and we've learned a few things. One of the most significant is that people who can charge their vehicles easily at home tend to enjoy their BEVs more and are more likely to become advocates.
Ford has learned from this and is creating a program called the "Ford Power Promise." You buy a BEV from Ford, and they'll take care of having a home charger installed in your garage. This program goes beyond just the charger and includes a connection to the BlueOval Charge Network, automatically searching for chargers across various networks, including Tesla's and Electrify America's (two of the largest). You get an 8-year 100K mile warranty on the traction battery and a 24/7 support advisor (a real person for now, not an AI) who can answer any questions about your BEV.
The Ford Power Promise is a decent start, but they could go further.
Tesla's Bar
When creating an EV, Tesla set the bar, and they were the ones that effectively plowed this EV field. They put in a charger network that remains the most comprehensive; they used storefronts closer to where people lived to sell the cars rather than dealerships and used mobile mechanics and centralized repair facilities to maintain them. When you had a problem with the car, they showed up at your door with a loner, which they'd swap with your car, and if you liked the loaner better, if you paid an upcharge, you could keep it.
Tesla also had programs that allowed you to update your car to more current technology for a fee, endearing themselves to Tesla drivers with what was at the time the most user-centric automotive sales and support service this side of Rolls Royce.
Even though their cars were arguably too expensive for most car owners, they set the market on fire and had company valuations that exceeded the combined value of Ford, GM, and a few other legacy firms.
Sadly, Tesla has collapsed or discontinued most of these programs over time. Musk became political and joined the party that hates BEVs, so Tesla is now bleeding loyalty, creating an opportunity for another car maker to step in. The service experience with Tesla now arguably lags behind that of Ford and GM, with massively long wait times and an inability for independent repair shops to get parts. And that old loaner program has given way to certificates for rental cars or Uber rides.
However, if they genuinely want to take Tesla's place, they need to do many of the things Tesla initially did to build brand loyalty and sales.
Ford Power Promise
The Ford Power Promise does close the gap with its emphasis on customer care and ensuring the charging at home part of the effort works properly, thus ensuring a better initial user experience. Unlike Tesla, Ford has a lot of local dealerships to handle service and typically has a loaner available if they take your car in for an extended period. Ford's logistics are also better, and they, with some exceptions, don't appear to have the parts or third-party service issues Tesla enjoys.
However, Tesla has had long-term quality problems, and Ford should be better with quality, but they don't appear to be. Tesla still seems to be able to get the EV tax credit, while Ford Mach-Es don't. In 2022, Consumer Reports, an extremely unbiased publication, rated the Ford Mach-E higher than the Tesla Model 3. While Tesla regularly outranked both Ford and GM, this does showcase that Ford can do better than Tesla at times, and given Tesla's poor quality historically, you'd think Ford would do better more often.
Finally, Ford spends far more on marketing than Tesla, but it doesn't focus that much on its electric vehicles, offsetting what could be another advantage.
Wrapping Up:
Ford has always had the potential to outperform Tesla; they don't seem to have the will. They should have higher-quality cars, they should be able to provide a better service experience (and generally do), and their cars, at least to my eye, look better and far less stark and cheap from the inside, but they don't seem to get much credit for that.
This suggests that what is truly underperforming at Ford is Marketing; they don't appear to want to position against Tesla, and thus, they aren't getting the benefit they'd otherwise have. This Ford Power Promise program is a strong step in the right direction. However, without well-funded and well-executed marketing and, frankly, a wider range of BEVs, Ford will still have trouble closing the sales gap with Tesla, even though Elon Musk is scaring off Tesla buyers.
Rob Enderle is a technology analyst at Torque News who covers automotive technology and battery development. You can learn more about Rob on Wikipedia and follow his articles on Forbes, X, and LinkedIn.
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