The Ford Mustang Mach-E was introduced with great fanfare back in November 2019 as the company's first true EV and an all-electric SUV that can match the mighty Mustang on the performance front. It's been a year since then and deliveries have been postponed to 2021, but that's not the biggest issue Ford has with the Mach-E. It seems Ford is bracing for poor resale values of the electric crossover, as revealed by a MachEClub forum member who got his hands on the company's bulletin of lease residual values sent to dealers.

Ford Mustang Mach-E value expected to plummet after three years of ownership

The base Select model and the range-topping GT version come with the worst predictions, with value likely to drop to 39 percent after 36 months of ownership. Other trims won't fare better either, with the Premium, First Edition, and California Route 1 models estimated to drop in value to 40 or 41 percent. Four years of ownership will devalue the Mach-E even further, with all trims dropping to 32 to 34 percent of their original price.

This is just guesswork for now, with no real-world information available since the Mach-E has yet to hit the streets, but Ford's estimate is far below the official depreciation values of Tesla models. A report from ISeeCars, released earlier in 2020, says that the Model 3 loses only 10.2 percent of its value after three years. The Model X and Model S depreciate by 33.9 and 36.3 percent on average, respectively. To put it into perspective, Ford expects the Mach-E to lose between 59 and 61 percent of its value over three years.

Tesla models aren't the only EVs that are doing better in the long run. The Chevrolet Bolt and Hyundai Ioniq Electric lose 47.5 percent of their value. The Kia Soul EV, Nissan Leaf, and BMW i3 are closer to the Mach-E's estimates at 58.7 to 60.4 percent.

Why is Ford so pessimistic about the Mustang Mach-E?

No one knows really and it's impossible to find out what's on Ford's mind right now, but it's safe to assume that the company is playing it safe based on its experience with the Focus Electric. However, the latter wasn't the greatest EV out there and its limited range had a big impact on its resale value. By comparison, the Mach-E not only offers competitive range, but it also comes in a variety of setups that will even allow it to enter the performance EV market. Another scenario would be that Ford is trying to make bigger profits on each Mach-E by claiming a lower residual value.

We will find out more once the Mach-E starts hitting dealer lots and customers take deliveries in 2021.

The Mach-E will be offered in two battery setups spread over five trims, including the limited First Edition model. The Standard Range version will feature a 68-kWh battery, an output of up to 266 horsepower, and range of up to 230 miles.

The Extended Range Mach-E will be powered by a 88-kWh battery and motors that deliver 290, 346, and 459 horsepower depending on trim and setup. Range estimates for this variant hit up to 300 miles. Pricing varies from $42,895 for the base model to $60,500 for the top-tier GT version.