For customers still unsure whether they’re ready to make the switch to an all-electric vehicle, Ford is sweetening the pot.
Today, the company launched a new initiative called the “Ford Power Promise,” in which it will provide a suite of benefits to customers who buy or lease a new EV. And chief among them is a complimentary home charger for all new customers, as well as the costs of standard installation.
The charger that’s being offered is the company’s Ford Charge Station Pro, a $1,310 Level 2 charger that comes with a standard CCS1 connector. Ford declined to put a monetary value on the installation but said it would cover costs up to 60 amps of power and 80 feet of wire run. Customers who need to upgrade their home electrical panel before the installation, however, will need to cover those costs themselves.
For customers who buy or lease a new EV but already have a home charger installed, Ford will provide them with the cash equivalent of $2,000.
That’s a good incentive to try to poach a driver of another EV brand.
So since the majority of people will probably need the panel upgrade this is an empty offer for those that won’t be willing to spend $2k+ for the upgrade.
The only way I was able to get a charger installed was from my utility company’s rebate if I used their rate22 for the charger. So they paid to install the new meter and charger but I had to buy the charger. Since it has its own meter it doesn’t affect my home’s panel limit. I went with OpenEVSE for their ease of repairability and upgrades. I can swap any part out in a matter of minutes.
Came here to mention that they better be hooking me up with a panel upgrade too, which I know they won’t.
Educated guess here, but yes. Your panel might only be designed to handle 200A and a bulk of that is typically used by your home already, primarily your major appliances and heating/cooling.
Further complicating matters for many Americans are HOAs, especially those with communal parking separated from the homes. Not only would I have to upgrade my panel, I’d have to pay to install a feed to my parking spaces. Thankfully for my region the law gives me the right to install this even if the HOA doesn’t cooperate, but laws vary and some people will have a very uphill battle.
“up to” 60 amps per the original snippet means you could do less if a load calculation needs it. Really, damn near any panel installed in the last several decades can take an additional 240V 20A circuit, which is still a lot of juice if you math out the kind of use you can get over a year.
If I buy an EV, it won’t be a smartphone on wheels. There is no way I’m giving these fuckers my driving data.
Every car is a smartphone on wheels if you bought it within the last 5-10 years.
Yeah, but the ones running on 3g don’t work as a smartphone anymore since the networks shut down. Basically anything more than 7 years old should be fine at this point.
You said “every car”, so I’ll assume you do mean every car, which is very much untrue. My 2016 Hyundai Tucson is a very much dumb car. It has a radio, CD player and Bluetooth. And that’s what I want essentially. I don’t want anything to do with those that are connected to the internet and get OTA updates. I’ll never buy those for as long as I can find the other ones. Cars like mine do exit and will continue existing, as a “low trim” model, which is why what I always get anyway.
I think you’re in for a rude awakening on your next car purchase. The low trim models are prime targets for data harvesting because they can make money off your data on the backend since you didn’t splurge for all the high-markup gizmos at the time of purchase. It’s just like smart phones and TVs, the less you pay up front, the more they find other means to make money off you.
Still not going to buy a massive and pointless electric truck. Give me a full EV Fusion, maybe.
I had to look it up; the Charge Station Pro is the one that allows bidirectional charging where the F-150 Lightning can serve as a backup to the home when plugged in, a great feature. The Mach E doesn’t have that capability, though, so it’s a wasted feature with that car.
I really liked the F-150 Lightning, but a full-size pickup with a crew cab doesn’t fit in my garage. I would have room to park outside in the driveway (and charger installation would be easier), but I don’t want to do that unless I have to.
The Mach E was nice, but I found the seats uncomfortable after about 30 minutes (the only part of the car I felt really was like a Mustang).
In any case I’m not in the market for a new car right now and don’t think I could afford a new electric vehicle with my current work situation.
