Ford executives have finally listened to what dealers have been saying for years: it’s too early to spend millions of dollars per dealership on EV infrastructure and training if people aren’t buying electric cars yet. According to Automotive News, Ford has allowed dealers to stop their EV investments, which were required in September 2022.
At that time, Ford said dealers who wanted to sell EVs had to agree to fixed pricing (no extra markups for profit). Also, those who wanted to become Model e Certified had to spend an initial $500,000 each on a public fast charger. Dealers who wanted priority on popular vehicles had to install two chargers as part of a $900k initial investment in the Model e Certified Elite program, with another $300k required by 2026 for a third charger. Dealers didn’t like these rules because they see how many people want electric cars every day.
Ford CEO Jim Farley attended all 11 meetings with around 1,000 dealers in six cities. Andrew Frick, Ford Blue President, said one of the main topics was the “rapidly changing EV market.” Last year, Ford admitted that half of its dealers weren’t interested in Model e, and in the first quarter of 2024 alone, Ford lost over a billion dollars on EVs.
As a result, Ford quickly decided to delay its Project T3 electric truck and SUV projects to focus on hybrids, like GM and Mercedes have done. Dealers likely expected Ford to make concessions after these meetings. Finally, Ford has acknowledged the decreasing demand and made concessions to its dealers, but more discussions are needed.
Andrew Frick, Ford Blue President quoted “We don’t want dealers to make any decisions until mid-June, when we might have more information to make better decisions based on what we discuss with the council in the next few weeks. We will review a lot of things.”
Dealers seem happy with the outcome, but there are still questions. The slowing growth of the electric vehicle market was a big concern, and it’s unclear what will happen with the Buick brand. Unlike Ford dealers, Buick dealers were told to invest in EVs or stop selling the sub-brand. However, EVs weren’t the only issue, and while the Model e program was a problem before, dealers likely brought up quality concerns too. Ford still has the most automotive recalls in the US, and its promise to improve quality seems conflicting with plans to cut EV production costs. We don’t know what Ford said about these matters, but Frick said Ford had “honest conversations about every part of the business,” and after the meetings, 93% of dealers reportedly left feeling more confident in the brand. That’s a good sign.
