Ford will give EV buyers a free home charger and installation

If you buy a Ford EV after October 1, the automaker will throw in a home charger and its installation—for free.

That perk is part of the Ford Power Promise, a new program from the automaker meant to make it easier for customers looking for a new vehicle to go electric. 

Ford launched its F-150 Lightning, an electric version of its iconic truck model, in 2022, and it has been the top or second-best selling electric truck every year since. (Ford’s EV lineup also includes the Mustang Mach-E, which was introduced in 2019, and the Ford E-Transit van, launched in 2022.)  

In June, Ford announced that its electric vehicle sales increased 61% in the second quarter of 2023. But EVs are still a small share of total Ford sales. The automaker sold about 44,000 EVs in the first half of the year; its sales of gas-powered SUVs topped 400,000. Ford also recently announced it was canceling some planned all-electric SUVs to focus on hybrids, but that it’s still focusing on rolling out affordable EV options. 

Why potential EV customers are on the fence

When EVs first began taking off, sales were driven by early adopters who were excited about the technology and fairly risk tolerant. Now, customers potentially shopping for EVs are the “early majority,” who are open to electric vehicles, but also have pragmatic concerns about range, charging, and the realities of using an EV everyday.

“We have a lot of customers open to electric, but they’re sitting on the fence,” Martin Delonis, senior manager of strategy with Ford Model E, said during a news briefing. Some of their concerns are actually misconceptions about EVs, Ford says. 

For example, potential EV customers may say they’re worried about range, but Ford says its EVs have a range that exceeds most drivers’ daily needs. The average American drives just 30 miles a day. When it comes to taking trips over 150 miles, less than half of all vehicles on the road do the trips Both the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach E have a range between 240 to 320 miles, enough to cover most people’s driving needs. 

Potential customers also have misconceptions around how far away or accessible public charging infrastructure is, how long an EV’s battery might last, how convenient—or inconvenient—it is to drive an EV, and how difficult it is to charge at home.

For charging access, Ford found that in California, people assumed the average distance to a fast charger was 44 miles; in reality, the average distance is 18 miles. (California has long led the country when it comes to EV charger access, but there are still gaps in the country’s charging network that leave some areas underserved. Still, EV drivers do more than 80% of their charging at home.)

“We’ve done the research and found that it’s not range anxiety we’re dealing with. It’s change anxiety,” Delonis said. Ford says those misconceptions stem from the fact that EVs require behavior changes and are just different than what customers are used to; they’re also not concerns shared by actual EV owners

Ford’s latest EV efforts

To address those concerns, the automaker is launching its Ford Power Promise, a new program, Delonis said, “designed to give customers the confidence to start benefiting from electric vehicle ownership with less stress and more convenience.” 

The first step is making sure EV customers can easily access home charging. Beginning October 1, Ford will offer a complementary home charger and standard installation to anyone who purchases or leases a Ford EV from a participating Ford dealer. That promotion goes from October 1 to January 2, 2025, but the company says there’s no cap to the amount of chargers it will install during that time. 

Those customers will get a level 2 Ford Charge Station Pro, which retails for $1,310. Standard installation includes up to a 60 amp circuit and up to 80 feet of wire. It does not include panel upgrades. (If your home already has a 240-volt outlet, basic EV charger installation can cost between $200 to $500, according to J.D. Power, though wiring or panel upgrades can add about $1,000.) Ford is working with EV charger installer Qmerit for the installation process. For customers that rent in an apartment, already have a charger at home, or otherwise don’t qualify for this promotion, Ford dealers will offer them a cash equivalent of $2,000. 

Ford is also highlighting three other perks for EV drivers: its BlueOval Charging Network, which includes more than 111,000 current chargers and access to thousands of Tesla Superchargers; the automaker’s eight year, 100,000-mile warranty for EV batteries (which is the federally mandated minimum); and 24/7 EV live support, through which EV drivers can text or call an advisor to get answers to questions about charging, software updates, and more. (Ford drivers have faced delays when it comes to getting adapters for the Tesla chargers, but the company says it’s working to ramp up that production.)

While the battery warranty and the charging network aren’t new, Ford says it wants to ensure that customers know about them. “What we’ve learned is that a lot of electric vehicle buyers and owners are not aware of this [warranty] benefit,” said Becca Anderson, senior director of Ford Model E customer success. “So our goal is really around customer education and confidence.”