Ford's use of the Mustang nameplate for an electric crossover was controversial, at least in theory. But the Mustang Mach E has resonated with buyers. Ford sold more than 40,000 of them in 2023, making it one of the five best-selling EVs in America. Those sales, a bit paradoxically, allow the traditionalist V8 Mustang and its emissions to linger on in the lineup.
One of the biggest benefits of buying a Ford Mustang Mach E is no longer having to buy gas. How much does it cost to charge a Mustang Mach E? How much money does it save over buying a gasoline-equivalent Ford crossover? It depends on how and when an owner decides to charge.
How much does it cost to charge a Ford Mustang Mach E?
Ford offers the Mustang Mach E with Standard Range (72 kWh) and Extended Range (91 kWh) battery packs. Ford recommends Mustang Mach E owners set a maximum charge limit of 90%. Using the national average household electricity rate of 16.68 cents/kWh, a 10-90% charge would cost $9.61 for the Standard Range Mustang Mach E and $12.14 for the Extended Range Mustang Mach E.
How much does it cost to charge a Ford Mustang Mach E at home?
Charging a Ford Mustang Mach E on a Level 2 charger at home will likely be the cheapest option. The national average is an average. The amount a Mustang Mach E owner pays for charging will vary greatly depending on several factors.
Where a Ford Mustang Mach E owner lives matters; the average electricity rate in North Dakota is just 10.44 cents/kWh. An owner there would pay $6.01 to deliver a full 10-90% charge on a Standard Range Mustang Mach E and $7.60 for the Extended Range. In contrast, the average rate in California is 32.47 cents/kWh. A Mustang Mach E owner there would pay $18.70 to charge the Standard Range and $23.64 to charge the Extended Range pack.
Timing matters, too. Electricity prices fluctuate during the day. Charging at off-peak hours at night and in the early morning will be cheaper than charging during peak hours in the afternoon. Some utility companies will meter a home charger separately to provide a discounted electricity rate for charging during off-peak hours.
Of course, charging at home means setting up a Level 2 charger, which can be costly. Ford offers a connected charge station for the Mach E that costs $799. Third-party units can run into the $500-$600 range. Installing the charger may require a licensed electrician, and the cost can run into the thousands. That cost may eliminate the savings from charging at home.
How much does it cost to charge a Ford Mustang Mach E at a DC fast charger?
Fast-charging a Ford Mustang Mach E is typically more expensive than home charging. Unlike many of its rivals, the Ford Mustang Mach E can charge at Tesla Superchargers. Ford has announced plans to switch to the NACS port in 2025. Current Mustang Mach E owners can do so with an adapter available from Ford. In our testing, it took several attempts to get the Mustang Mach E charging on a Tesla Supercharger.
Rates are variable at Tesla Superchargers. Motortrend estimates rates of about 25 to 50 cents/kWh to charge at a Supercharger, which is about twice the average rate for electricity. Supercharger users can also incur additional fees, including a $1.00 per minute idle fees for leaving a car on a charger once it’s finished and a $1.00 per minute congestion fee for charging past 80%.
As with charging at home, the cost of charging a Mustang Mach E at other DC fast chargers will vary greatly based on where and when you charge. Providers typically charge a substantially higher rate than the going rate for electricity and add a transaction fee and taxes on top of the rate.
How much cheaper is charging a Ford Mustang Mach E than fueling a gas vehicle?
Substantially cheaper. Ford has a calculator to determine this on its website. We plugged in a national average of $3.45 for a gallon of gasoline and 16.68 cents/kWh for electricity. If you compared a base FWD Ford Escape earning 30 mpg combined with a Standard Range RWD Mustang Mach E, Ford estimates that an owner driving 10,000 miles yearly would save $3,164 over five years.
According to the EPA, an AWD Extended Range Mustang Mach E requires 34 kWh to travel 100 miles. At the average national rate, that would cost $5.67. An AWD Ford Escape would use 3.6 gallons of gas to travel the same 100 miles at a cost of $12.42 at $3.45 per gallon.
