All 380 residents of Britain’s smallest town, Fordwich, were some of the first to try out the new Mustang Mach-E. The carmaker organised a three-day mass test drive around the Kent countryside in their first all-electric crossover.
The town’s name cleverly worked with brand’s name and was duly pounced upon by the Ford marketing and PR team, it seems. There is some method behind the madness, as according to Ford’s Go Electric consumer sentiment report, a large majority of British people residing in the countryside (82%), small towns (79%) and villages (76%) “would not feel confident purchasing an EV as their next vehicle” if the ban on petrol and diesel cars came in next week.
The British government announced it would ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.
Ford’s Go Electric consumer sentiment report also revealed a considerable lack of confidence and information on EVs, particularly in rural areas and small towns such as Fordwich.
Over half of those living outside the city felt confident with the information they had to buy an electric vehicle compared with 85% of those living city and large town folk.
“What a fantastic way to get people to try out an electric vehicle. We are so proud of our town and preservation is something that is incredibly important to us so we were keen to see how simple it would be to switch over to a more environmentally friendly vehicle. It’s great to see so many people signed up,” said Philip Lewis, Local Councillor and Mayor of Fordwich.
Ford partnered with British Gas to install a public charging point in the town, as it invests infrastructure into small towns to ease concerns around sufficient charging points.