Ford Ends Expensive EV Requirements For Deals

I wonder why?

Ford ends controversial EV program, shocking dealers

Detroit Big Three automaker Ford is changing the way the brand sells its battery-electric vehicles, with its latest move placing the automaker’s EVs within easy reach of nearly 90% of Americans.

Though the new move can translate to more sales and increased foot traffic for dealers, Ford retailers have mixed reactions, as it involved the axing of a controversial and expensive program that the Blue Oval hung over their heads.

In an announcement on June 13, Ford announced that it will be ending its Model e certification program, a program that enables dealers to sell the automaker’s electric vehicles at their stores.

In a statement to Automotive News, Marin Gjaja, COO of Ford Model e, Ford’s electric vehicle division, said that the evolving EV market required them to change the way it sells its cars.

“At this point, we’re basically saying we want to lower the bar to let people get in,” Gjaja told AutoNews. “We’ll probably have to continue to evolve from here, but we wanted to get everyone in because what we’re seeing is a market that is evolving and the customer needs support. We’d rather have more dealers in helping us with that. Before we tried to create focus because we were supply-constrained. But we aren’t anymore.”

What did dealers have to do before?

Those who wanted into the program could choose one of two certification “levels” that required extensive investment in EV infrastructure equipment and training.

Dealers that wanted to be a Model e Certified dealer needed to invest up to $500,000 in training and charging equipment, while those that opted to be a Model e Certified Elite dealer were looking at an investment of up to $1.2 million. Ford executives said that actual costs for dealerships turned out much lower than their estimates.

And the dealers who spent all that money are now hosed. All the other dealers can choose to sell if they want. Which is around half of them. Could it be that Ford is having trouble selling EVs, because people do not really want them? Ford was trying to comply with the government, rather than producing the best car like Tesla.

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