When Ford first announced the Mustang Mach-E Rally, it sounded like a fun little EV, but we didn’t realize Ford put way more effort into testing the Mach-E Rally than it had any reason to. Turns out, this thing should actually be an absolute hoot in the mud. Unfortunately for any British fans looking to get their hands on a Mach-E Rally, though, these things won’t be cheap to buy in the UK, with Autocar reporting a base price of £76,790. At current exchange rates, that’s the equivalent of $101,279.
Now, the Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally doesn’t actually start at $101,000 in the U.S. You’re looking at only about $60,000 before dealer markup here. That’s still a lot of money and more than most people make in a year, but it’s still a whole hell of a lot less than $101,000. And it’s not like incomes in the UK are higher to compensate. Median household income in the UK is about £35,000, while it’s about $74,000 in the U.S. So while the typical American household still couldn’t afford a Mach-E Rally, it’s a lot closer to being able to do so than the typical British household.
Of course, the cost of a car in one country is rarely a good predictor of how much it will cost in another one. In addition to the cost of shipping, you also have to account for local tariffs and taxes, as well. So we can’t imagine Ford got tired of dealing with all the complications that Brexit created and said, “Fuck the UK specifically.” Still, it’s wild to look at a pretty extreme example of just how much importing a car to a new market can jack up the base price. It’s also a great reminder that a fairly achievable car in your country might not be so achievable in another.
