Ford cancels Model e Dealer Program, letting all US retailers sell EVs

[dbsb3233]

I can’t help but feel Ford has been making a lot of bad moves here recently.

The bad moves proved to be the ones 2-3 years ago where they tried to push too hard and too fast to BEVs. Including the dealership mandates.

BEVs can be great for people in the right situations (like most of us here), but the market just isn't there yet for massive adoption. Especially the North American market. And Ford is not in very good position to commit much to it. They're bleeding money on EVs. And not by drops, but buckets.

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[mkhuffman]

This is a huge letdown. Three years of slow progress on improving the EV customer experience basically down the drain. Regular Ford dealers are not equipped to do EVs the right way, it has to be opt-in with standards. There are no requirements in place until March 2025 for regular dealers, so customer experience will continue to suffer until then. Enforcement of basic requirements (like having a NEMA outlet to test EVSEs) keeps getting pushed back endlessly.

I still read about plenty of horrible dealership experiences on here (due to poor training and familiarization), I hate to think things are going to be worse now as dealers with even less experience will be allowed to sell EVs before meeting any requirements. It should be fundamental that you do not sell what you cannot service.

They should have just dropped the DC charger requirement but kept everything else about Model e Certified.

If I was a dealer that spent a million dollars to actually install the DC chargers, l'd be furious right now because that investment was arguably a total waste. This proves that dealers can win by being stubborn, ignoring mandates, and complaining about it until Ford corporate gives in. Ultimately Ford is beholden to its dealers, not its customers. Which is sad because there are a lot of Ford employees that have worked tirelessly to improve things for EV customers, this is a slap in the face to them too.

I agree. IMO, it was a big mistake to force dealers to install DCFC stations. They put in one dispenser, and how do I know if it is being used or not? Am I seriously going to count on that location when on a trip? All that is needed is for one person to get there two minutes before me, and then I have to wait 20-30 minutes. Not worth it at all.

 

[Sikkun]

The bad moves proved to be the ones 2-3 years ago where they tried to push too hard and too fast to BEVs. Including the dealership mandates.

BEVs can be great for people in the right situations (like most of us here), but the market just isn't there yet for massive adoption. Especially the North American market. And Ford is not in very good position to commit much to it. They're bleeding money on EVs. And not by drops, but buckets.

And yet Fords gross profits were up 21, 22, 23, …. (Currently up YOY 24)

New technology cost money. They are not investing for the 2024 market. They are investing for the 2034 market, and they have the money to do it.

 

[dbsb3233]

This seems like a very bad move for customers. I wouldn't want to buy an EV from a dealer only to find out they can't do anything to assist me with it if there's a problem.

The alternative was worse though... Forcing dealers to commit to expensive DCFC chargers and other Model e requirements, resulting in many pulling out altogether. Thus leaving people with even FEWER places to get service.

 

[Jimrpa]

I'm sure this will get a lot of negative attention but overall I think this is a good move. The requirement to install a DCFC was a pretty big expense for smaller and more rural dealers. But even for bigger dealers, it is a hard pill to swallow. And in some locations, it just didn't make sense. I think it also created a lot of bitterness with the dealerships as well.

IMO, make good EV products that customers want (and at a good price), and the dealers will want to sell them.

They could have created a tiered program. My dealer was all-in and just dealing with our colonial-era bureaucracy to get the DCFCs installed (it’s difficult when everything has to be written out on parchment with quill pens!)
It sounds like free loaner cars, car washes, and so on have been tossed out as well ?

 

[Jimrpa]

I sure hope this announcement is followed up by Ford announcing Ford EV branded service centers... The technology adoption by dealers is too slow and too many are ill prepared for helping Ford succeed on EVs.

Nice dream. I don’t see dealers ever allowing it. You’re more likely to see a non-UAW ford plant in the US first ???

 

[Jimrpa]

This is a huge letdown. Three years of slow progress on improving the EV customer experience basically down the drain. Regular Ford dealers are not equipped to do EVs the right way, it has to be opt-in with standards. There are no requirements in place until March 2025 for regular dealers, so customer experience will continue to suffer until then. Enforcement of basic requirements (like having a NEMA outlet to test EVSEs) keeps getting pushed back endlessly.

I still read about plenty of horrible dealership experiences on here (due to poor training and familiarization), I hate to think things are going to be worse now as dealers with even less experience will be allowed to sell EVs before meeting any requirements. It should be fundamental that you do not sell what you cannot service.

They should have just dropped the DC charger requirement but kept everything else about Model e Certified.

If I was a dealer that spent a million dollars to actually install the DC chargers, l'd be furious right now because that investment was arguably a total waste. This proves that dealers can win by being stubborn, ignoring mandates, and complaining about it until Ford corporate gives in. Ultimately Ford is beholden to its dealers, not its customers. Which is sad because there are a lot of Ford employees that have worked tirelessly to improve things for EV customers, this is a slap in the face to them too.

This is what I meant by going to a tiered approach. Let dealers be a lower tier and not have to have DCFCs, or perhaps even servicing (as long as a dealer servicing EVs is “reasonably” close).

 

[dbsb3233]

And yet Fords gross profits were up 21, 22, 23, …. (Currently up YOY 24)

New technology cost money. They are not investing for the 2024 market. They are investing for the 2034 market, and they have the money to do it.

Because of ICE and commercial bailing out their EVs, yes.

The 2024 market (and the 2025, 2026, 2027...) is still overwhelmingly ICE. Especially in North America.

It's not just new technology. First and foremost it's the massive battery costs. If/when those come way down, they'll have a chance to approach profitability on EVs. But they're a long way from it in the near term. Thus why they had to pull back and focus more on what IS making money for them.

 

[dbsb3233]

This is what I meant by going to a tiered approach. Let dealers be a lower tier and not have to have DCFCs, or perhaps even servicing (as long as a dealer servicing EVs is “reasonably” close).

Well, that's pretty much what they're going back to, without calling a tiered approach. In other words, any dealer can sell EVs again, and those that choose to EV certify can service them. That's the way it should have stayed all along. Ford tried to force a power play on them to withhold their EV allotments unless they committed to install DCFC plus other requirements, with the likely intent of undercutting them with direct (or semi-direct) sales. That proved to be a big fail.

 

[zvez]

Yeah the positive is the not needing DC charging stations. I just don't think a dealer should have to have them. My dealer who are pretty big on EVs were talking about how they were going to have to do major renovations so the public could have access to them on off hours.

 

[Sikkun]

Because of ICE and commercial bailing out their EVs, yes.

The 2024 market (and the 2025, 2026, 2027...) is still overwhelmingly ICE. Especially in North America.

It's not just new technology. First and foremost it's the massive battery costs. If/when those come way down, they'll have a chance to approach profitability on EVs. But they're a long way from it in the near term. Thus why they had to pull back and focus more on what IS making money for them.

While dropping $6 Billion on an EV/battery manufacturing plant.

Or you could just hope to never need to innovate and see how long that works out. I’ll check next time I’m at Sears.

 

[dbsb3233]

While dropping $6 Billion on an EV/battery manufacturing plant.

Or you could just hope to never need to innovate and see how long that works out. I’ll check next time I’m at Sears.

You're confusing "not prematurely going heavy into EVs" with "never innovate".

Ford has been innovating for 120 years.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Can dealers tap into NEVI funds?

No. There are specific requirements that NEVI Stations must meet. The biggest of those imo is the minimum of 4 units requirement.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

I think that for some of us in isolated areas, this may be the end of anything resembling substantial EV sales. The dealer out here begrudgingly cooperated with the various EV Dealership requirements and was significantly late on all steps along the way. I anticipate them quietly dropping EV service while continuing to sell occasionally (most Ford EVs are out-of-state sales here) until the lack of service catches up with them, and surprises 100% of the out-of-state buyers.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Well direct sale HAS actually been an option since around February. Originally you could “order online“ but more recently you could pay online.

You're still buying through the dealer. The online option avoids some of the paperwork at the Dealership. Plus the option isn't mandatory for dealers, they can simply not participate, just like everything else related to EVs it seems.

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