Electric Mustang Mach-E Outsells Ford’s Classic Coupe – and Is Anyone Really Surprised?

It may be the best-selling pony car on the market but the classic, gas-powered Ford Mustang coupe was outsold by the all-electric Mustang Mach-E last year. If anything, the EV gained significant momentum in 2024, something that one of Ford’s key competitors could take as encouragement as it launches its own, all-electric muscle car.

Growth in the EV market slowed measurably last year, but some market segments performed markedly better than others, it turns out, starting with performance vehicles.

Take the Ford Mustang Mach-E. It saw sales grew 27% during 2024, marking its best year ever. More significantly, with Ford delivering 51,745 of the electric crossovers, it handily outsold the classic Mustang coupe. The gas-powered pony car experienced a 9.5% dip in demand. At 44,003 deliveries, that marked the coupe’s lowest volume in more than two decades, according to industry sales data.

Analysts and industry planners are already debating how to interpret the results. But it could be a good sign for competitors readying all-electric performance vehicles, such as the newly launched Dodge Charger Daytona.

A weak market for muscle

Sports cars and other performance models have lost significant momentum in recent years, particularly those in more mainstream segments. That’s led manufacturers to pull or scale back production on a number of models. In the “pony car” segment, Chevrolet ended production of the Camaro in December 2023. Jaguar build the last F-Type months later, and this will be the last year for the Nissan GT-R.

But don’t take the weak sales numbers for the Mustang coupe as a warning that its days are numbered, according to Ford officials.

“Measuring Mustang’s success by just looking at volume misses the mark on the strength of this particular segment,” Deep said in a statement. “Mustang is a very profitable and vibrant business for Ford. We build passionate products for enthusiasts and that’s going to continue to grow.”

A lack of interest?

If anything, Ford broke long-standing taboos when it brought out the Mach-E four years ago. Lifting a page from the retail food industry, it has engaged in brand extension. It first  applied the vaunted pony car name to an electric crossover and will introduce a supercar version, the Mustang GTD, later this year to succeed the previous Ford GT.

And there’s more coming, Ford told dealers last year. It is exploring options such as a four-door version of the gas coupe, and even an off-road model. The company, a spokesman told Automotive News, has “very exciting plans to expand our portfolio with new vehicles at all price points.” But there are also plans to grow the EV model line. The Mach-E Rally variant was introduced in 2024 and more packages are in the works, insiders have told Headlight.News.

If anything, “We’re happy with where Mustang is and, frankly, where we’re going,” Mustang brand manager Joe Bellino told the trade publications. “It’s a critical part of our business and will continue to be a part of our business.”

Nonetheless, some observers think the classic coupe’s sales downturn should be seen as a cautionary sign. It suggests “a lack of interest in coupes” as much as anything else, suggested Stephanie Brinley, principal auto analyst for S&P Global Mobility. That’s reflected in the broader U.S. new vehicle market. Coupes of all forms now account for low single-digit sales, while sport- and crossover-utility vehicles are now the overwhelming favorite body styles.

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Battery power

There are other reasons why Mach-E might have outsold the Mustang coupe, said Brinley. The classic pony car’s design has certainly received a number of updates over the years, the latest generation launching barely year ago. But they’ve been evolutionary, while Ford went with a more revolutionary look for the EV. And, she stressed, that’s on top of the added flexibility that translates into, with a useable back row and substantial cargo capacity.

There’s also the substantial power that electric motors can deliver. In its sportiest version, the Mustang Mach-E GT delivers a blistering 480 horsepower. That matches the numbers from the traditional gas-powered Mustang GT coupe’s 5.0-liter V-8 – until you factor in torque. There, the EV blows it out of the water, at a full 700 pound-feet with the Performance upgrade compared to the classic model’s 415 lb-ft.

(You’ll get 800 hp and 655 lb-ft out of the Mustang Shelby GT500 coupe, but that’s in an entirely different performance class, and the upcoming GTD is a Mustang primarily in name and some familiar design cues.)

The Mach-E also is available in all-wheel-drive which offers its own advantages, especially in snowier climes where rear-wheel-drive products, in general, continue to lose traction.

Of course, power alone, isn’t everything, unless you’re focused on the dragstrip. But the top-line versions of the Mach-E are surprisingly agile when held up to the coupe on track and street courses.

Electric performance

While sports and muscle cars may be losing their grip on the market, performance is arguably bigger than ever in all forms. Even traditionally staid brands like Subaru and Toyota are offering beefed up versions of key products, and there are few models from luxury marques like Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz and BMW that don’t have high-output options – through their V-Series, AMG and M sub-brands, respectively.

More and more manufacturers are adding performance versions of their battery-electric vehicles, including AMG packages for the Mercedes EQE and EQS models. Audi has its e-tron GT and Caddy is readying its first all-electric V-Series models. Among mainstream marques, Hyundai has hit a home run with the Ioniq 5 N capable of blasting out as much as 641 hp.

But few brands have taken as bold a risk as Dodge which has, over the last two decades, completely redefined itself as a muscle car brand.

Dodge charges up

In an admittedly risky move, the Stellantis division halted production of the classic Dodge Charger sedan and Challenger coupe models at the end of 2023. It is just now rolling out the Dodge Charger Daytona, a ground-up reinvention using a new platform that can handle a variety of different powertrains.

Initially, Dodge is offering two versions of the Daytona coupe, the R/T and Scat Pack, the latter delivering up to 670 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque – capable of launching the EV from 0-60 in just 3.3 seconds. Four-door versions come next. But, in a move made to reflect the slower-than-expected growth of the EV market, Dodge will follow with several gas-powered versions – sans the “Daytona” badge.

To wrap up the program, it is working on an “ultimate” package, the Charger Banshee. While details have yet to be released on this EV, officials have promised it will be the most powerful model in Dodge history, blowing out the legendary Hemi-powered Hellcat packages. Some insiders have hinted Banshee could top the 1,000 hp mark.

“I think Dodge should be confident in the product they have,” despite the loud cries of online protest from many traditional muscle car fans, said Brinley. It may take a while to win them over, but the combination of power, utility and “fun” can connect to a new generation of performance-minded motorists, she believes, much as has happened with the Ford Mustang Mach-E.