Ford has issued a stop order to its dealers for the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover, amid fears a safety defect could render the vehicle immobile. CNBC reports†
The fault relates to a possible overheating of the vehicle’s battery high voltage switches, which could cause the vehicle to fail to start or lose power while in motion. It’s the latest hiccup impacting Ford’s introduction of its mass-market electric car, which helped the automaker rank second in EV sales behind Tesla.
Affected vehicles include 2021 and 2022 model year vehicles built between May 27, 2020 and May 24, 2022 at the Cuautitlan plant in Mexico, possibly every Mustang Mach-E produced to date. It is not clear whether the carmaker is also planning a recall. The last recall for the Mustang, for accidental acceleration, was dated May 13, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The stop-sale announcement comes at a pivotal time for Ford’s electrification strategy, with the first F-150 Lightning trucks reaching customers in recent weeks. The company reports that it sold 6,254 electric vehicles in May 2022, a 222 percent year-over-year increase and about 4.2 percent of Ford’s total sales volume. The Mustang Mach-E represents the bulk of those May sales, or 5,179 vehicles.
This isn’t the first speed bump in Mustang’s short history. Ford was delayed in rolling out the EV in the spring of 2021 for additional quality checks. The automaker has also issued a handful of recalls for unintended acceleration, improperly installed seat belts, loose subframe bolts, and other issues.
A Ford spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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