Ford Reportedly Cancelling 2021 Mustang Orders
There’s a Ford dealership in Iowa claiming that Blue Oval has canceled some Mustang Mach 1 and GT500 orders for the 2021 model year, suggesting that interested customers re-up for the 2022 MY vehicles.
Representatives from Granger Ford (located in, get this, Granger, IA) have taken to the Mustang6G forums to explain that their store has been notified that some customers will have to go without this year due to component shortages. While cancellations don’t appear to be widespread, other shops have confirmed they’ve gotten similar memos.
From the Mustang6G forum:
We just received official word today that some Mustangs/GT500s for the 2021 model year will be cancelled because of commomdity [sic] shortages. Ford will be rescheduling these orders for 2022. The team at Ford is exploring options to protect retail customers, with more information that will be available soon.
Sorry to say that we are going to have 12 total Mach 1s that were for retail customers get cancelled. @Jay at Granger will be reaching out over the next couple days for our customers who have been impacted by the change.
This is the first time we’ve experienced something like this, in this magnitude and I can certainly understand the frustration of those of you who have ordered. We are going to lock in our discount and I would encourage those of you who visit with Jay to get the 2022 order placed ASAP. It sounds like receipt of the 2022 order will determine timing of delivery.
Again, I appreciate your understanding and patience with this unforseen [sic] issue.
Officially, Granger claimed that it’s only seen cancellations of Mach 1 models. But the GT500 was included in the notice it was given and it claimed to have firsthand knowledge of other dealers having to cancel Shelby orders. Curiously, some dealerships we contacted claimed to have no knowledge of such an issue.
Others said they had been told that cancellations would be possible as recently as Monday, with a few having to nix a few cars ordered late and planned for production near the end of 2021. Several also speculated that how vehicles were equipped could have played a factor, something that was likewise being considered at Granger Ford.
With dealerships lacking widespread knowledge of these cancellations, there’s a part of me wondering if a few Mustang annulments are being faked to encourage markups. Let’s face it, someone that’s had their heart set on purchasing a Mach 1 and has already endured a few months of delays might just bite the bullet and buy one at whatever price was being asked. But that’s the kind of thing they’d eventually get caught doing, accompanied by no shortage of risk — not that we haven’t seen insane markups on more pedestrian vehicles literally all year.
Though I’m inclined to believe Granger and company. Nobody wants to be the shop that had to tell a dozen clients that their wait will continue into 2022 and it hardly sounds like a sound business model.
Ford is currently launching a week-long production halt for the new Maverick and Bronco Sport. In fact, the whole year has more or less been about the company deciding when and where to short its manufacturing efforts. So it’s totally plausible that it ran into production issues with the Mustang that warranted cancellations. However, the company has, as of yet, not outlined component shortages that might have impacted the Mach 1 and GT500.
Frankly, it’s just not a good time to be buying a car. Shortages are making specific models difficult to come by and dealerships are happy to take advantage of the demand by tacking on fees they hope customers will be desperate enough to pay. If you want a Mustang, or any other vehicle for that matter, we hope you wait for it and refuse to be gouged by predatory actors. The longer we put up with these insane prices, the longer they’re likely to continue. Though if you’re happy paying $15,000 atop the standard MSRP (which we’ve seen), it’s reasonably certain you’ll be able to get the Mustang of your dreams before the summer of 2022. Just don’t go bragging that you paid extra so you didn’t have to wait because nobody else is going to apricate it.
[Image: Ford Motor Co.]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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If they wanted to produce fake cancelations, they wouldn't do it on a high margin product like the Mustang.
@Lou_BC--What's your next choice? Will it be a special Ranger like a Ranger Raptor or a turbo 23 Colorado? Keep us posted.