If KDE had proper human interface guidelines that didn't fit on a cereal packet and adopted a UX ethos & direction rather than a kitchen sink mentality then something might change. But it hasn't changed in decades so I won't be holding my breath. But if it were me dropping 1.5 million on the project that's where I'd be demanding the money be spent.
I would say that maybe if the devs followed the KDE human interface guidelines they might improve, but the KDE human interface guidelines are practically non-existent, about 7 pages that read like somebody's weekend assignment. Spend the millions writing some proper ones, and adopting it. It doesn't require KDE become GNOME, but GNOME has at least made the effort and despite your dislike, it is an slick, unsurprising, simple, forgiving and discoverable desktop.
Ford does make other EVs in Europe but even there a couple of their models are just reskinned Volkswagens ID.5s. They have the in-house developed Puma Electric I guess which is generally considered an okay car but nobody really talks about it. And of course the Mach-E which looks cool but is too expensive and getting kind of old. And a few electric vans. That's it.
Just like with other US companies they're watching their market shrink because they're simply not investing in emergent technologies. I'm sure they'll hang on for a bit in some niches but their consumer offerings outside of the Americas look like they are in terminal decline.
If you aren't rich you should always look useful. -- Louis-Ferdinand Celine