New Ford Dealer DCFC Incentive Program

[dabois89]

Really interesting. I wish that Ford would require that the pricing for the charger be something reasonable. I've noticed that most of the DCFC's installed at car dealerships (in my area) tend to cost 10 to 20 cents more per kWh than surrounding chargers.

Some ive seen double what the other DCFCs in the area are charging.

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[david_quick]

Mandatory chargers didn't work. Now Ford is trying an incentive program to encourage dealers to install DCFC equipment.

Obviously in a whole different class but we owned a franchise business. The franchiseor wanted all the stores in the area to remodel and install new point of sale systems. They had bought out a licensee who was not requiring these things so the store owners were pretty resistant to spending the money. The franchisor finally gave a bunch of incentives worth more than the remodeling cost and most of us signed up. They threw in the POS systems for free.

Point is there is more to one way to get what you want. There ie the carrot or the stick.

 

[fmtexmme]

Texas allows electric cars? ?

Texas is actually #3 in the nation in EV registrations behind California and Florida.

 

[kennethjk]

Many dealerships are easy on/off from the interstate and have decent waiting rooms with free drinks/snacks and clean bathrooms.

It’s really not a terrible place to charge.

I agree. I went to a friend in the Poconos. There was an EA station not too far away but there was also a large Ford dealership that I could have used.

on a trip I made from Boca Raton, Fl to Tampa there weren’t any fast chargers once off of the Florida Turnpike but there is a large Ford dealership in Bartow that would have come in handy. They have added am GM branded charger at Pilot in Bartow so not much of an issue now.

I would never use my local dealership 4 miles away but on a trip, absolutely. Better to look at cars than in a Walmart

 

[dbsb3233]

I would never use my local dealership 4 miles away but on a trip, absolutely. Better to look at cars than in a Walmart

I'd use one if it's the only choice, of course. But a dealership would be near the bottom of my list for preferred places to DCFC on a trip. Often no amenities closeby other than a bathroom, and not the best hours. In some states they're not even open on Sundays.

Here's a typical dealership around here vs a typical EA station.

 

[kennethjk]

I'd use one if it's the only choice, of course. But a dealership would be near the bottom of my list for preferred places to DCFC on a trip. Often no amenities closeby other than a bathroom, and not the best hours. In some states they're not even open on Sundays.

Here's a typical dealership around here vs a typical EA station.

To each their own. I believe In any port in a storm. Having been to a few Walmarts, I wouldn’t mind a nice Ford dealership from time to time.

 

[MikeGB]

It all depends on where you are driving. My local dealership just installed 2 L3 chargers, don't think they are open to the public yet. When I picked up my MME in 2/22, there where 4 L3 charger locations in the entire state, each over 100 miles from me. Still not many options to charge once you get off the interstate in WY, SD, ND, MT, but at least now there are L3 chargers.

 

[Madtroniks]

This is great news and a step in the right direction for manufacturers.

 

[ChasingCoral]

To each their own. I believe In any port in a storm. Having been to a few Walmarts, I wouldn’t mind a nice a Ford dealership from time to time.

They usually have a nice air-conditioned waiting room and free coffee.

 

[eStang]

Mandatory chargers didn't work.

I think it is more accurate to say "didn't work as well as expected".... But it did work somewhat. I have pleasantly used DCFC at rural dealerships that had their installations done as part of the discontinued program.
So, it worked for me.
But I'm glad that Ford took action to respond to the feedback of dealers and the market to refine their approach.

 

[eStang]

Because dealers already tend to have large amounts of 3-phase power available to them. It's much easier than powering up random sites that may or may not have power, right of way, etc. Also, there are dealers even in rural locations, where there may not be any other DC chargers (including Tesla). I think Ford should have done more to incentivize dealers to install chargers, i.e., send them more money upfront, but I guess Ford isn't really serious about being a DC charger provider of any sort.

Also, across vast Midwest and Great Plains the fact is that many small towns have a Ford dealer, so they can nicely fill gaps between the Interstate corridors. And the staff at small town dealerships are some of the friendliest folks you will find.

 

[Tampamike]

Of course they allow them. They just don't try to jam them down people's throats. Personal choice.

TX is #3 in the country in EV ownership, behind CA and FL.

Now, if only the grid worked a little better, …

 

[eStang]

A bit odd that NACS is not allowed given that Ford has committed to adopting J3400 inlet on their vehicles from 2025 on.

 

[eStang]

Ford has shipped hundreds of thousands of CCS cars. They need to support those cars while the transition to NACS in 25+. I don’t know that I would by a charger that doesn’t have NACS support with a simple cable swap. The wording does not seem to prevent a migration to NACS in the future.

I wonder if the newly announced ChargePoint Omni cable/connector can be fitted to the Power Electronics chargers that are being installed at Ford dealers? That would be an elegant solution.

 

[VaporTrails]

I wonder if the newly announced ChargePoint Omni cable/connector can be fitted to the Power Electronics chargers that are being installed at Ford dealers? That would be an elegant solution.

I would love to think that is the case, but I think they are focused on checking the box at the lowest cost. I also think that many of the sites are severely power-limited. Before, the biggest power draw was the showroom AC and the single 220V Compressor. Even something like an ADS-TEC battery-backed charger is a huge investment.

Getting dealer access to DCFC is vital. I have talked with a number of owners at EV shows who are still scared to road-trip their car because DCFC did not work and the dealer could not help. That’s just wrong.

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