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

[KevinS]

How long before Farley is gone? How much customer and dealer trust and goodwill has evaporated since the MME was released?

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[Snakebitten]

IMO, Ford should have fronted the cost or at least covered a large portion of the upgrades required for DCFC at the dealer locations.

Wouldn't that theoretically have Ford adding the cost of DCFC infrastructure to the MSRP of our Mach-E?

I admit that I'm not sure I would have supported the now withdrawn mandates for DCFC installs. Certainly not a one size fits all approach. It's a complex issue.

But I don't know if I'd like the co$t burden of DCFC infrastructure burdening the already expensive product. Especially if I happen to be a customer that doesn't need DCFC to drive an EV.

 

[Gloff]

Wouldn't that theoretically have Ford adding the cost of DCFC infrastructure to the MSRP of our Mach-E?

I admit that I'm not sure I would have supported the now withdrawn mandates for DCFC installs. Certainly not a one size fits all approach. It's a complex issue.

But I don't know if I'd like the co$t burden of DCFC infrastructure burdening the already expensive product. Especially if I happen to be a customer that doesn't need DCFC to drive an EV.

Ford has to remain competitive in the market, so the pricing on the Mach E isn't directly linked to infrastructure (as seen by the losses incurred by the Model e unit to date). Ford very much views EVs as necessary, at least in part, to continue to sell F150/Super Duty.

Tesla viewed the supercharging network as more or less a cost of doing business. They introduced it as free on the early cars, always with the intention of charging money for later cars. I think Ford should have built their own network, starting with dealers, but I doubt Farley would get that plan past the stakeholders and board on cost alone.

 

[Gloff]

How long before Farley is gone? How much customer and dealer trust and goodwill has evaporated since the MME was released?

Ford's other segments are still doing well. One could argue the Mach E is competing well in a crowed segment, albeit at a loss.

 

[Snakebitten]

Has Farley even been there long enough for the Mach-E or Lightning to be his product(s)?
With the typical lag between top level thumbs up and the product actually hitting the showroom floor, I'd guess that we can hold him accountable for things like T2, and Mach-E V2, and whatever that 2 year old EV skunk works team come out with?

 

[Sikkun]

Ford's other segments are still doing well. One could argue the Mach E is competing well in a crowed segment, albeit at a loss.

And even then MME sales are up….

Ford is currently doing pretty well, sales are up, profit is up, and they are investing billions into new manufacturing and plants.

Dividend rates are stable, stock price is horizontal pretty much like the last 24 years.

Think his job is currently safe.

 

[Fixbear]

Unfortunately, this move will likely create even more bitterness for some dealers - all the dealers that did invest thousands of dollars to meet the requirements, only to now find out they didn't need to do that.
While I agree with opening up inventory and dealer availability to purchase the vehicles, I don't think this move will really help the current problems with dealers only having 1 (or sometimes no) certified EV mechanics. My local certified EV dealer had to cancel my appointment last week, because "we don't have any certified mechanics available for your appointment". This was after having the appointment scheduled for over 2 weeks. I got a text message 22 hours before the scheduled appointment time telling don't bother to show up.

Unfortunately Tech's have personal views and disagreements with management all the time in Dealers. If the shop leading man and service manager like you, you tend to stay longer. But a good tech is in high demand and often gets offers that look better on the other side of the fence. Remember, that they get paid by piecework. When you catch a odd one and only get 30 hour pay instead of 45+ for the week, it hurts. That's when you start looking. Been, Done that.

 

[awp0]

I don't really care about DCFC chargers at Ford dealerships. The piece of the "model e" program that matters to me is set pricing and online purchasing. While that may not matter very much today because we're back to an "under MSRP" market, it was less than 2 years ago that predatory dealers were screwing us all over with hidden ADMs and unrequested add-ons to orders. I guess we'll see how it goes.

 

[phil]

This program is not months old, it's years.

The Model E dealership certification program was announced on September 14, 2022. The program has now been killed after about 21 months, or 1.7 years.

 

[phil]

CEO Farley has stated multiple times (including on investor calls) that their "Gen 2" EV vehicles will be profitable within the first 12 months of release. We'll see whether they achieve this, but this is absolutely the expectation he's setting with investors.

He can say it as many times as he likes. Any investor who takes such "statements" at face value is liable to lose a lot of money.

 

[Scooby24]

Ford's other segments are still doing well. One could argue the Mach E is competing well in a crowed segment, albeit at a loss.

Right? Isn't it number 2 behind the Model Y? So literally selling better than any other non-tesla?

 

[Gloff]

The Model E dealership certification program was announced on September 14, 2022. The program has now been killed after about 21 months, or 1.7 years.

True, but much longer in the making, this was not a rash decision as was posited.

 

[Gloff]

Right? Isn't it number 2 behind the Model Y? So literally selling better than any other non-tesla?

Kind of surprising considering how much value there is in an Ioniq/EV6. Not sure why those haven't been flying outta stores. I haven't had a chance to actually touch/feel drive.

 

[Scooby24]

Kind of surprising considering how much value there is in an Ioniq/EV6. Not sure why those haven't been flying outta stores. I haven't had a chance to actually touch/feel drive.

I owned one (EV6 GT-Line). I didn't like it much at all. Felt very soft and squishy...didn't feel like a driver's car. Interior was very cheap feeling and looking IMO. The software was busy and it didn't have wireless android auto. The sound system was terrible. I bought another mach-e and super glad I did.

Oh, and it felt smaller in pretty much every way compared to the Mach-E. I sat up really high in it and couldn't get lower. I'm 5'11" and felt almost like I was at the roof. Had to keep sunroof open to feel like I had room.

 

[mkhuffman]

This program is not months old, it's years.

IMO, Ford should have fronted the cost or at least covered a large portion of the upgrades required for DCFC at the dealer locations. If they did that, they would have gotten a lot less blowback from the dealerships. By making the dealers front the total cost, it turned most dealers off from the program. Most of the rest of the standards were pretty mundane.



I can't speak to your region of the US, but here in California, the DCFC I've had to use (admittedly, limited) has been fine. Does it take slightly longer than a gas stop? Sure, but I wouldn't say it's such an inconvenience that I lament the task. How many people are really travelling far enough to need more than one DCFC in a day. How many consumers are actually road tripping vs how many like the idea of road tripping, but don't actually do it?

I sell these bad boys for a living, and the biggest thing I noticed among guests that aren't actively shopping for an EV is that they still hold on to misconceptions that are either no longer an issue, or have been minimalized in today's market. Thinks like "they only go 100 miles", "you can't charge it anywhere", "they're way more expensive than a gas car", "I always have to worry about charging my car". Most people don't want to change, so they don't go searching for ways it can fit into their life like the early adopters do. I think there is more than one reason stopping "mass adoption". I think more, and more reliable, DCFC would certainly ease the anxiety that comes with DCFC infrastructure today. Certainly, gas cars ran in to the same issues in the 1910s until the infrastructure was there to support cars.

To your point about higher entry cost: It's actually cheaper to buy in some scenarios than the equivalent gas vehicle, even for vehicles that don't qualify for the tax credit. In those scenarios, it's difficult to explain to guests why a lease to buy works out to more savings. IMO, the IRA had a negative impact on EVs, as now people that were considering an EV stopped because of a lack of understanding of the rules/qualifications for both the vehicle an themselves.

Can you provide a BEV that has equivalent features to a similar ICEV and yet is cheaper to purchase? No, you can't.

I love my MME but the ICEV equivalent has many more features than mine. My $62k car doesn't have an opening roof, ventilated/cooled seats or a heads up display. The rear seats are not heated. The only reason I have a rear hatch button is because I added it myself. Just about every $62k ICEV has more features than my car.

Seriously, dude.

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