Ford has been making big changes in how it sells its cars for the past few years. They split the company into three parts: Blue for regular cars, Pro for business vehicles, and Model E for electric cars. But they’ve had some problems with the Model E part.
Some dealers sued Ford because they were told to spend a lot of money to sell electric cars. Ford wanted them to have special pricing, offer services like picking up and dropping off cars for repairs, and even build charging stations. This made some dealers unhappy.
Ford has been trying to fix these problems. They’ve been talking to dealers to understand their concerns. They’ve had 11 meetings with dealers in six different cities this year. Based on what dealers said, Ford plans to make more changes to the Model E program.
Recently, Ford told dealers to wait before spending more money on getting ready to sell electric cars. This change happened because Ford decided to focus more on hybrid cars instead of fully electric ones.
One big change they’re making is letting more dealers join the Model E program without needing to spend as much money or get as many certifications. This is because many dealers felt left out and thought the program was too expensive.
Ford will announce more changes next month when they meet with their dealer council. They’ll talk about other things too, not just electric cars. They want to make things simpler for dealers and help them with things like finances and warranties.
Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, has been very involved in these meetings because they’re important for the company. Ford’s Chief Financial Officer, John Lawler, said that Wall Street needs to be patient with the Model E program, comparing it to a startup. Even though Model E has lost a lot of money, Ford hopes to turn things around soon.
