Ford sets 5 new requirements for EV dealers, including remote delivery, fast chargers & non-negotiable pricing

[Neil4Real]

I don't believe in this part at all.

I believe that they'll monitor it, doubt they'll do much about it. Maybe smaller dealerships can be strong armed, but top dealers for certain regions can't be strong armed. Telling those dealers they'll lower their allocations will just hurt Ford.

I would hope they have language in the new EV certification that allows them to fine dealers substantially or do something else should they fail to honor the price you agree upon at purchase (which obviously doesn't have to be MSRP, but should at least be clear and not this bait and switch bs).

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[Ciero]

It seems like Ford would work with some of the DCFC vendors and work out some kind of deal to pay some of the costs, or appeal to the states that are working on spending their charging station budgets. I can appreciate wanting to force the dealers' hands to make it a better experience for customers, but that's got to be a huge burden for some of the smaller or more remote dealerships.

 

[timbop]

This sounds like a pretty bad deal for the dealers. They can't do markup, the service revenue will be significantly less, and they have to invest $500k to $1m just for the privilege of making less money. Even worse, I am sure Ford will set the price for charging on those DCFC units, further limiting the dealer's ability to generate revenue. This could easily backfire on Ford, with not enough dealers willing to buy-in and cutting their ability to meet their sales targets.

It seems to me Ford needs to put skin in the game, instead. Ford needs a nationwide sales footprint and wants a nationwide network of chargers; that shouldn't rest solely on the dealers. IMHO a more equitable distribution would be for Ford to supply at least half the cost of the Chargers and proportionally reap the corresponding revenue from them. The dealerships could be compelled to cough up the real estate for the chargers pro bono, as well as putting up the cash for the EV service equipment and training. Service/maintenance of the chargers could equitably be split between Ford and the dealers with Ford supplying spare parts as warranty claims and the dealerships the maintenance personnel. The dealers would then have every incentive to keep the chargers up and running since the parts would essentially be warranted by Ford and they'd be getting a slice of the charging revenue.

We all know that DCFC chargers are a loss leader and exist simply so people will buy BEV's. It doesn't seem right for Ford to put the burden solely on the dealerships whom they're continuing to squeeze.

And 1 or 2 chargers per site is laughably anemic

 

[db4z]

I think the vision is people should be able to configure their cars online and after selecting a dealer immediately see a final price before placing an order, sort of like ordering our Mach E's but with much fewer steps and much more confidence/transparency that the price on website is what you will actually pay. This would let people shop around at different dealers before placing an order and therefore force dealers to become much more price competitive and therefore efficient with their operating costs. Today you have go in person with many dealers to even get a price out of them, and even then there is usually no guarantee they will honor that price until you sign the paperwork after your ordered car you waited months for finally arrives, meaning there isn't great competition because it is so hard to compare prices compared to shopping on amazon, etc. Some dealers may choose to have higher inventories for customers that can't wait to order, but they will likely pass those costs onto customers via ADM or fewer discounts, which I think is fair to cover the cost of interest and deprecation on stocked models.

Some dealers will not be able to justify these upfront investments, and some will not be able to be able to remain profitable if they forced to truly compete on transparent pricing and ultimately there will be fewer Ford dealers. However, this should in-theory significantly cut sales and distribution costs by only letting the most cost efficient dealers survive giving customers better pricing, a better experience by letting them know they picked the dealer with the best price, and increase profits to Ford as they should be able increase average invoice prices to dealers as the one's that survive should be operating the leanest.

Finally for DC fast charging, I think it important from a demo perspective to show new customers how it works and it should help drive in more showroom foot traffic to get people looking at the latest models while they charge.

 

[DadzBoyz]

My fear.... Of Course, they do the bare minimum.

Notably:

For Model-E Certified:
"Another noteworthy requirement for this certification is that the Ford dealership must install at least one public facing Ford DC fast charger. Hence the reason for the high investment."

For Model-E Elite
"...they are required to install two DC fast chargers, at least one public facing."

Yes, it says they will require:
"Back-of-house charging infrastructure to support sales, maintenance, and care"
...But come on. The one in the back will be for service and delivery and the one in front will be plugged in or taken by sales people charging for demos, or charging their cars, or charging the boss' demo that he's driving around that week.

From the article, it appears that Ford is estimating $300,000 per DC Fast Charger. Seems a bit high, If they install one, then add another later, as the article implies, for each installation they have to go through planning permits, utility coordination, etc. If they installed three at one time, they would reduce the cost of installation by having to pay for those things just once. BUT!!!! That would require intelligence and strategic thinking to plan for a future a little further out than the hot dog that they're going to have for lunch. Strategic thinking from the same people that think $5-15k ADM is a smart long term decision. (It is, if you define "long term" as the time between now and your next paycheck, but no further.)

If Ford wants to compete with Tesla, they're going to have to think outside the box.
Ford has something that Tesla does not.
A dealer within 20 miles of 96% of Americans and within 10 miles of 85% of Americans (from the article).
Hmmmm.
Tesla is talking about creating Charging stations with movies, pools (Germany), diners...
Well, Ford already has all of these dealers and no real charging infrastructure of their own.

1. Have the dealers install 4, 5, 6 public accessible L2 and DC Fast Chargers. Now you're starting to create an actual Blue Oval infrastructure for relatively low costs compared to Tesla having to buy/rent/lease space in parking lots, get permits, etc.
2. The dealers can create their own themes and destinations.
   • Yes, invite people in to see the new Bronco, Mustang, etc.
   • Yes, have something more than burnt coffee, stale donuts and bagels in the service department. Real food for charging customers, car shoppers, etc.
   • Sell accessories (MARGIN$$$).
   • Be creative.
3. Open and promote the charging stations for ALL EV's. Bring in people with competitive cars. Generate traffic. Make the dealership alive, as compared to the ghost town most dealers are now.
4. Streamline the software/module update process to that owners could plug-in, charge and update simultaneously while there.

@Ford Motor Company , always so close, yet so far away (yes, I've been listening to Hall & Oates).

You really could have taken a leap forward with this.

 

[AlpaChino]

Thats awesome! I wish Ford luck on this. I am not 100% sure DCFC is necessary or maybe that's just my California mindset.

"It's fucking necessary." - everyone outside California

 

[AlpaChino]

And 1 or 2 chargers per site is laughably anemic

Not for a small town that has exactly zero today.

 

[TheSeg]

In a customer and support perspective, I welcome the DCFC stations located at service centers.

For supporting cars, technicians can test DCFC on-site. Even power up if service drained a lot of the battery. Currently service techs would have to drive somewhere off-site to a DCFC station to confirm DCFC was working. Able to confirm operational on-site means better service.

The customer benefits are pretty obvious in that it expands the options of DCFC while traveling. I do hate how all the charging conversation is based on DCFC when the day-to-day life of a customer should be focused on Level-2. At the dealership it makes sense to center the EV experience on-site.

For dealerships… DCFC is a big endeavor. In California, the state mandates the streamlining of permitting and codes to facilitate all charging infrastructure. The rest of the US and Canada… I can imagine it's more difficult. At the same time, this is how the future is going for the expectation of EVs. Once this starts rolling out, it will be very interesting to see how this pans out.

I bet the Inflation Reduction Act are why this endeavor is kickstarted. I don't know if Ford's cost estimates factor the grants/rebates or not.

 

[Texas-E]

I live in a big city with quite a few Ford dealerships, and the lack of knowledge about their project is embarrassing. They need staff that understands EVs, service departments that can speak the language, and mechanics/techs that know what they are doing vs. and want to perform the work.

The DC charging... it would be nice. L2 chargers at every dealer that support the maximum rate for the vehicles they sell... YES!

I would hope that Ford works with dealers based on the market size. In my city... so you don't want to do this, there are 10 other dealers, and the one (or several) that step up will be the EV destination for buyers. A small town with one dealer... Ford helps them out, or the market is so small that you don't get EVs to sell. Sorry, but I don't have much sympathy.

There are a lot of Ford dealers around here who have not made much of an investment in their buildings or anything in a long time. Time to invest or don't complain.

I also don't know where training takes place, but it seems like a worthwhile investment for Ford to have a half dozen tractors/trailers and hit big cities and multiple dealers at one time. There are things corporate Ford could do to bring dealers up to speed, too.

 

[Debangor]

Thats awesome! I wish Ford luck on this. I am not 100% sure DCFC is necessary or maybe that's just my California mindset.

It certainly would be a welcome change to have fast chargers at more locations!

 

[Neil4Real]

This sounds like a pretty bad deal for the dealers. They can't do markup, the service revenue will be significantly less, and they have to invest $500k to $1m just for the privilege of making less money. Even worse, I am sure Ford will set the price for charging on those DCFC units, further limiting the dealer's ability to generate revenue. This could easily backfire on Ford, with not enough dealers willing to buy-in and cutting their ability to meet their sales targets.

This isn't correct, they can most certainly markup still and I'm sure, if the current demand remains, they'll get it. Ford just wants the pricing to be transparent. The current model of ordering a car where it says MSRP only to get to the dealer and have them slap a $5k to $20k ADM on it, definitely needs to be fixed.

This probably also won't stop dealers from their addons that can't be removed that tack on another $1k to $8k per car for paint, wheels, interior, lojack, etc. I'm sure dealers will easily get around that as Ford will probably just be checking the vehicle sales price, not caring about addons since dealers can say the customer wanted it even though they had no choice.

 

[CherryBomb]

I’ve travelled to many places that currently have no DCFC. Most all of them have a Ford dealer. This could be a big plus in a lot of places.

Absolutely agree. However, "Ford Dealership" doesn't necessarily equal "Ford EV Dealership." For example, the availability of DCFC along I-80 out west is ain't great and I'd be surprised if the dealership in Laramie Wyoming would put in a DCFC when Electrify America hasn't yet found the demand to do so.

 

[HuntingPudel]

I wonder how this is going to affect the scumbag dealer near me who sold customer-ordered MMEs out from under the customers who placed deposits and waited for their orders. I hope negatively, and in a big way.

 

[dal]

https://electrek.co/2022/09/14/ford-sets-new-dealers-requirements-in-order-to-sell-evs/

Five new pillars for Ford dealers to sell EVs
With these new dealer commitments, Ford is laying the foundation for a bright future in EV sales, not only in retail, but online as well. In a sit down with a small group of media yesterday, Ford executives from all three divisions, as well as CEO Jim Farley, presented the future of Model e dealerships, built upon five pillars. He explained:

We’re betting on the dealers, we’re not going to go direct. But we need to specialize. We do that with unique standards.

Here they are:

• Training:
  • Specialized EV teams that are knowledgeable across sales and ownership
  • EV University to train dealers and subsequently, customers
• Charging:
  • Back-of-house charging infrastructure to support sales, maintenance, and care
  • Public DC fast chargers available on Blue Oval Network (see more below)
  • 96% of the US population lives within 20 miles of a Ford dealer, 85% live within ten miles – by implementing fast chargers at dealers, it helps ensure customers always have somewhere to charge their EV, even if they don’t have their own home to do so
• eCommerce:
  • Transparent, non-negotiable pricing
    • To be clear, dealerships still set the pricing, that’s the law. However, Ford wants pricing to be consistent and fair for its customers and said it will be monitoring the process from entry to exit to ensure that the customer signs on the dotted line for the same price as originally promised on day one.
    • Ford says it will be surveying customers post sale and monitoring the consistency of prices across different customers at each dealer
  • Opportunity for the greatest customer satisfaction
  • Ford told us it saw online orders jump from 6% to 50% in one year
• Physical Experiences:
  • Remote delivery available to all Model e customers
  • Pickup and delivery offered with a loaner to all Model e customers
• Digital Experiences:
  • Software and subscription opportunities available
  • Ford Pass perks

https://electrek.co/2022/09/14/ford-sets-new-dealers-requirements-in-order-to-sell-evs/

Five new pillars for Ford dealers to sell EVs
With these new dealer commitments, Ford is laying the foundation for a bright future in EV sales, not only in retail, but online as well. In a sit down with a small group of media yesterday, Ford executives from all three divisions, as well as CEO Jim Farley, presented the future of Model e dealerships, built upon five pillars. He explained:

We’re betting on the dealers, we’re not going to go direct. But we need to specialize. We do that with unique standards.

Here they are:

• Training:
  • Specialized EV teams that are knowledgeable across sales and ownership
  • EV University to train dealers and subsequently, customers
• Charging:
  • Back-of-house charging infrastructure to support sales, maintenance, and care
  • Public DC fast chargers available on Blue Oval Network (see more below)
  • 96% of the US population lives within 20 miles of a Ford dealer, 85% live within ten miles – by implementing fast chargers at dealers, it helps ensure customers always have somewhere to charge their EV, even if they don’t have their own home to do so
• eCommerce:
  • Transparent, non-negotiable pricing
    • To be clear, dealerships still set the pricing, that’s the law. However, Ford wants pricing to be consistent and fair for its customers and said it will be monitoring the process from entry to exit to ensure that the customer signs on the dotted line for the same price as originally promised on day one.
    • Ford says it will be surveying customers post sale and monitoring the consistency of prices across different customers at each dealer
  • Opportunity for the greatest customer satisfaction
  • Ford told us it saw online orders jump from 6% to 50% in one year
• Physical Experiences:
  • Remote delivery available to all Model e customers
  • Pickup and delivery offered with a loaner to all Model e customers
• Digital Experiences:
  • Software and subscription opportunities available
  • Ford Pass perks

Been saying some of these things to Ford in every. single. survey I have sent them. Even any email THEY initiated. It's about time!

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