There’s a new and unexpected option on the latest Ford Mustang Mach-E options list…
Whenever you hear anyone talk about “shrinkflation”, you typically think in terms of a bag of chips, your favorite chocolate or maybe those fries you get with the burger combo at your favorite fast-food joint. That concept is a little more abstract with cars, but it does happen from time to time. Mainly, we see it with automakers locking features like heated seats or semi-autonomous driving capability behind a paywall. The 2026 Ford Mustang Mach-E now brings a new extra-cost option (that formerly wasn’t) to the table, in that you now have to pay $495 to get a frunk, or “front trunk”, as the folks over at Car and Driver noticed.
Keep in mind, from Ford’s launch of its electric crossover, the frunk was one of its selling points that came standard across the board. Now, head over to the Build and Price page, and you’ll see the new option pop up under exterior accessories. And while we’re there: You know the tire inflator kit that’s effectively killed off the spare tire in most modern cars? That’s an option, too.
You could look at it as one way to keep the overall MSRP down if you really don’t aim to use the frunk, much the same as you would shopping between trim levels, I suppose. This feature has already been standard for years, however, and the frunk is a bit of extra practicality you don’t actually see with too many EVs, save Tesla and more expensive options from Rivian and Lucid. The phenomenon isn’t new either, as I mentioned, though it’s mainly an issue with software (and so it is with BlueCruise, which you have to pay for after the initial trial). Companies argue service upkeep as the main reason to tack on high one-time purchase fees or monthly subscriptions. Surely they’d never dream of doing it to boost after-sales profit! No, never.
But heated seats? Owners and prospective buyers were steamed at BMW for charging extra to use them, as it arbitrarily locked off a physical feature they assumed they were already paying for through buying their new car in the first place. You can’t help but feel the same sort of vibe here, where it sure seems like customers are being tested on what they’re willing to tolerate as cars get ever more expensive, and they’re focused to pay more, while getting less.
Across the board, it is worth noting for fairness’ sake that Ford did drop the baseline price on the 2026 Mustang Mach-E lineup from 2025. Instead of $37,995 to start (before the destination fee), you’ll look at a base MSRP of $37,795. On the higher end, models like the GT and Rally kick off at $53,395 and $57,690, respectively ($1,100 and $800 lower than 2025). The destination charge did go up by $50 to $2,045, but you could effectively choose the frunk on some trims and still come off a bit better than last year, when the frunk came as standard equipment.
When you look at Ford’s earnings report for Q4 2025 and see its electric Model e division losing $1.2 billion in just three months, it may shed a bit of light on why we’re seeing this kind of adjustment with the Mach-E. Nevertheless, looking at it as a lay person…do we need to squeeze quite this hard?
