The war on EVs has culminated in the loss of the $7,500 federal tax credit, but Ford Motor Company is already picking up the pieces. The iconic US automaker is making a strong pitch for its new 2026 Mustang Mach-E GT California Special package, while underscoring its confidence in the enthusiasm of the car-buying public for EVs, and California, too.
As Ford tells it, the focus on EVs and California has trickled up through the grassroots Mustang community. The California Special design team was spearheaded by Stefan Taylor (exterior) and Kristen Keenan (color and materials). Both are Mustang owners who draw inspiration and insights from their frequent in-person connections with Mustang fans at car shows and meetups. They have been hearing from the Mustang community, and the message goes something like this: We love EVs, and we love California, so give us a new California-themed package for the Mustang Mach-E GT, please.
“At car shows and Mustang events, you see all sorts of modified Mustang vehicles,” Taylor explains. “Personalization is such a big part of what people love about the brand, so we wanted to make sure we were giving potential customers a package that stands out and offers something unique in this space.”
“The 2026 Mustang Mach-E GT California Special delivers the best of both worlds — advanced electric performance wrapped in heritage-inspired design with today’s California style,” Ford emphasizes.
EVs And California: Follow The Money
Another element to consider is California’s position as one of the single largest auto markets in the world. “California is one of the largest economies in the world (the 4th largest!), and it’s also a heavily auto-dependent state,” CleanTechnica editor Zach Shahan observed on October 13 in a review of Q3 EV sales in the US.
“In this case, 124,755 fully electric zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs/EVs) were sold in the progressive state,” Shahan added, which accounts for a peak share of 29.1% of all auto sales.
As further support for the California theme, the Mach-E has been selling fairly well in California. Though trailing Tesla’s #1 Model Y and #2 Model 3 by a very wide margin during the first six months of 2025, the Mach-E finished out the half in the #5 slot with 5,594 sales. That puts Ford in a fairly respectable league with the Hyundai IONIQ 5 (#3) and close behind the Honda Prologue (#4).
The New Mustang Mach-E California Special
Ford could also be banking on home-state pride to boost Mach-E sales in California, and perhaps score a ripple effect among prospective EV buyers in other states.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the new California Special color theme. Red would have been a good choice, harkening back to the red accents of the original California Special of 1968. Instead, Ford went for blue, and not just any old blue. It’s Rave Blue, a custom color Ford introduced in 2024.
“Rave Blue is now the cornerstone of the California Special package, found on both the Mustang two-door and now the 2026 Mustang Mach-E,” Ford notes. “Both vehicles wear Rave Blue accents on their wheels, grille, exterior badges, and interiors.”
For those of you keeping score at home, in 2024, US President Joe Biden occupied the White House. However, Ford insists that politics played no part in the choice of blue. “With California and its beautiful coastline, blue is a natural choice,” explains Keenan.
“We developed a new color called Rave Blue. It travels from light to dark, just like ocean water, and it’s extremely chromatic, going to a blue violet in some cases. It’s just a beautiful dynamic color,” Keenan elaborates.
Next Steps For EV Sales In The US
Interested? Here’s the low-down from Ford: “The package has an MSRP of $2,495 on top of the Mustang Mach-E GT base price of $53,395. The 2026 Mustang Mach-E will be available to order on October 22 with the range starting at $37,795 and will begin arriving at dealers in Q1 2026,” Ford wrote (more info at Ford.com).
That’s ain’t cheap, and it’s an especially big bite coming after the untimely demise of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit on September 30. The share EV share of total new-vehicle sales in the US dipped to 5.2% in October from a high of 12.9% the previous month. Though, the difference was partly due to a rush of last-minute buyers aiming to beat the tax credit deadline.
That last-minute rush brought a lot of former ICE buyers into the EV fold, and they are not likely to switch back. By an overwhelming margin, EV drivers say they will get another EV when they make their next purchase.
The real question is whether or not Ford and other automakers can keep adding former ICE drivers to their EV rolls over the near term. That remains to be seen. However, the TCO (total cost of ownership) case for choosing EVs over conventional ICE vehicles remains strong, and new online EV cost calculators are making it easier for prospective EV buyers to calculate the savings based on their own driving habits.
Another thing to consider is the potential for tapping a new wave of EV buyers among the millions of US drivers who rent their homes in multi-family buildings and complexes. Wedging an EV charging station into the tenant–landlord relationship has been a tough nut to crack, but a necessary one. The vast majority of EV owners prefer to charge at home, a convenience that many tenants are unable to obtain for themselves.
The problem is that landlords don’t want to shell out for EV charging stations with high upfront expenses and ongoing operational tasks, and tenants don’t want to pay for improvements on property they don’t own.
A solution is beginning to take shape in the form of CaaS (Charging as a Service) businesses. A relatively new development in the EV charging field, CaaS takes care of all upfront and ongoing costs, so keep an eye on activity in that area over the months to come.
Photo: Ford pushes all the buttons at once — EVs, California, and the color blue — with the new blue-themed California Special package for the 2026 Mustang Mach-E GT (cropped, courtesy of Ford).
