Automakers are always looking for ways to improve their bottom lines, and Ford’s found a way to get Mustang Mach-E buyers for an extra $495 — you gotta buy a frunk now.
To be fair, not all electric vehicles come with frunks, but for those that do, it’s always been free. Until now. Ford officials, according to the Ford Authority, claim most owners don’t use the frunk anyway, so it’s wasted space. In this case, one person’s wasted space is another company’s newest source of revenue.
Since most buyers don’t use the frunk, one might not consider it a big deal except that when the Mach-E and the Ford F-150 Lightning were introduced five years ago, the frunk was a big part of the marketing. The number of times those spaces were shown filled with pieces of luggage or drinks on ice is too many to count.
One reason for the lack of consumer excitement may be a 2024 design update that cut down the size of the Mach-E’s trunk by about half. So it could only hold iced beverages for four people instead of a party of eight or more. The original was about the size of a 36-gallon cooler and came with a drain plug, making clean up easy after all the drinks are consumed.
Before one gets too cranky with the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker, know that it could be worse. Ford’s not the first one to charge for a frunk. If you want one in the Dodge Charger EV, it’ll cost you — 10 times as much! You’ll need to pony up $5,000 for 1.5 cubic feet of space under the hood.
The Dodge Boys must be real short on cash.
However, if you must have a frunk for free, there are options: the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Tesla Model Y, and Kia EV6 offer them. Additionally, the F-150 Lightning still offers it while it’s still in production, and the GMC Hummer SUT does offer space there, but its primary function is to hold the truck’s removable roof panels.
[Images: Ford, Dodge]
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