The struggle on EVs has culminated within the lack of the $7,500 federal tax credit score, however Ford Motor Firm is already choosing up the items. The enduring US automaker is making a robust pitch for its new 2026 Mustang Mach-E GT California Particular package deal, whereas underscoring its confidence within the enthusiasm of the car-buying public for EVs, and California, too.
As Ford tells it, the give attention to EVs and California has trickled up by way of the grassroots Mustang neighborhood. The California Particular design workforce was spearheaded by Stefan Taylor (exterior) and Kristen Keenan (colour and supplies). Each are Mustang house owners who draw inspiration and insights from their frequent in-person connections with Mustang followers at automotive exhibits and meetups. They’ve been listening to from the Mustang neighborhood, and the message goes one thing like this: We love EVs, and we love California, so give us a brand new California-themed package deal for the Mustang Mach-E GT, please.
“At automotive exhibits and Mustang occasions, you see all types of modified Mustang autos,” Taylor explains. “Personalization is such an enormous a part of what folks love concerning the model, so we wished to ensure we have been giving potential clients a package deal that stands out and provides one thing distinctive on this house.”
“The 2026 Mustang Mach-E GT California Particular delivers the most effective of each worlds — superior electrical efficiency wrapped in heritage-inspired design with immediately’s California fashion,” Ford emphasizes.
EVs And California: Comply with The Cash
One other factor to contemplate is California’s place as one of many single largest auto markets on the earth. “California is among the largest economies on the earth (the 4th largest!), and it’s additionally a closely auto-dependent state,” CleanTechnica editor Zach Shahan noticed on October 13 in a evaluation of Q3 EV gross sales within the US.
“On this case, 124,755 totally electrical zero-emission autos (ZEVs/EVs) have been bought within the progressive state,” Shahan added, which accounts for a peak share of 29.1% of all auto gross sales.
As additional help for the California theme, the Mach-E has been promoting pretty effectively in California. Although trailing Tesla’s #1 Mannequin Y and #2 Mannequin 3 by a really vast margin in the course of the first six months of 2025, the Mach-E completed out the half within the #5 slot with 5,594 gross sales. That places Ford in a reasonably respectable league with the Hyundai IONIQ 5 (#3) and shut behind the Honda Prologue (#4).
The New Mustang Mach-E California Particular
Ford may be banking on home-state satisfaction to spice up Mach-E gross sales in California, and maybe rating a ripple impact amongst potential EV consumers in different states.
With that in thoughts, let’s check out the brand new California Particular colour theme. Crimson would have been a sensible choice, harkening again to the purple accents of the unique California Particular of 1968. As a substitute, Ford went for blue, and never simply any outdated blue. It’s Rave Blue, a customized colour Ford launched in 2024.
“Rave Blue is now the cornerstone of the California Particular package deal, discovered on each the Mustang two-door and now the 2026 Mustang Mach-E,” Ford notes. “Each autos put on Rave Blue accents on their wheels, grille, exterior badges, and interiors.”
For these of you preserving rating at residence, in 2024, US President Joe Biden occupied the White Home. Nonetheless, Ford insists that politics performed no half within the selection of blue. “With California and its lovely shoreline, blue is a pure selection,” explains Keenan.
“We developed a brand new colour known as Rave Blue. It travels from gentle to darkish, identical to ocean water, and it’s extraordinarily chromatic, going to a blue violet in some instances. It’s only a lovely dynamic colour,” Keenan elaborates.
Subsequent Steps For EV Gross sales In The US
? Right here’s the low-down from Ford: “The package deal has an MSRP of $2,495 on high of the Mustang Mach-E GT base value of $53,395. The 2026 Mustang Mach-E will probably be out there to order on October 22 with the vary beginning at $37,795 and can start arriving at sellers in Q1 2026,” Ford wrote (extra information at Ford.com).
That’s ain’t low cost, and it’s an particularly large chew coming after the premature demise of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit score on September 30. The share EV share of whole new-vehicle gross sales within the US dipped to five.2% in October from a excessive of 12.9% the earlier month. Although, the distinction was partly attributable to a rush of last-minute consumers aiming to beat the tax credit score deadline.
That last-minute rush introduced a variety of former ICE consumers into the EV fold, and they aren’t more likely to swap again. By an awesome margin, EV drivers say they are going to get one other EV after they make their subsequent buy.
The actual query is whether or not or not Ford and different automakers can maintain including former ICE drivers to their EV rolls over the close to time period. That is still to be seen. Nonetheless, the TCO (whole price of possession) case for selecting EVs over typical ICE autos stays sturdy, and new on-line EV price calculators are making it simpler for potential EV consumers to calculate the financial savings primarily based on their very own driving habits.
One other factor to contemplate is the potential for tapping a brand new wave of EV consumers among the many hundreds of thousands of US drivers who hire their houses in multi-family buildings and complexes. Wedging an EV charging station into the tenant–landlord relationship has been a troublesome nut to crack, however a essential one. The overwhelming majority of EV house owners desire to cost at residence, a comfort that many tenants are unable to acquire for themselves.
The issue is that landlords don’t need to shell out for EV charging stations with excessive upfront bills and ongoing operational duties, and tenants don’t need to pay for enhancements on property they don’t personal.
An answer is starting to take form within the type of CaaS (Charging as a Service) companies. A comparatively new improvement within the EV charging subject, CaaS takes care of all upfront and ongoing prices, so control exercise in that space over the months to return.
Photograph: Ford pushes all of the buttons directly — EVs, California, and the colour blue — with the brand new blue-themed California Particular package deal for the 2026 Mustang Mach-E GT (cropped, courtesy of Ford).
