Ford is not reducing the prices of its Mustang Mach E electric crossover in Europe to compete with Tesla, which slashed prices for its Model Y and Model 3 cars by up to 20 percent.
Ford's European business is following a different path than in the U.S. where the automaker has cut prices of the Mustang Mach-E by $600 to $5,900 to avoid losing ground in the increasingly competitive EV market.
A Ford France spokesperson said it had no imminent plans to cut prices in response to Tesla's discounting. The Mustang Mach E's price cuts are "specific to the North American market. We have nothing to announce at this time," the spokesperson said.
Ford is able to deliver the Mustang Mach E in France in a shorter time and in the majority of configurations following a period of production constraints, the spokesman added.
The Mustang Mach E's prices remain unchanged in the UK and Germany, Ford's largest European markets.
Ford's U.S. prices cuts were made in reaction to Tesla's price cuts of the Model Y, a direct competitor to the Mustang Mach E.
"We have to compete," Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer for Ford's EV unit, told Automotive News. "It's a competitive marketplace, and it just got a lot more competitive because of what Tesla did. We are not going to cede ground to anyone."
Ford on Monday said it plans to build 130,000 Mustang Mach-Es globally this year, up from 77,959 last year.
Ford sold around 25,000 Mustang Mach-E models in Europe last year, according to Dataforce.
Volkswagen Group has said it is not cutting prices in response to Tesla's move.
"We have a clear pricing strategy and are focusing on reliability. We trust in the strength of our products and brands," CEO Oliver Blume told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
Renault also is not reducing the prices of its EVs.
"I think that a battle on pricing on electric cars right now when we are just starting operations is not the best thing that could happen to the industry," de Meo said on Tuesday at the industry's lobby group ACEA's headquarters in Brussels.
De Meo has taken over the role as ACEA chairman from BMW CEO Oliver Zipse. ACEA's leadership rotates leaders among automakers with European operations.
De Meo said automakers need to have a good profit margin for electric cars because of the high investments needed -- "otherwise this will not become a very healthy business for the industry."
He said he thought that EV price cuts seen so far are not "structural" -- that is supported by genuine cost reductions that are passed onto the consumer.
Automakers are facing a surge in costs for all-electric cars caused by soaring prices for battery materials.
De Meo said batteries were 40 percent of the price of a new car, while raw materials were 80 percent of the price of the battery.
"Everyone is trying to protect their margin. The cost of electric vehicles is still relatively high," he said.
