8:28 am, September 16, 2022
Ford has given its US dealers just weeks to commit to selling EVs under new rules that will see them having to invest about half a million dollars each at least.
It made the shock announcement regarding its new Model e division earlier this week in Las Vegas at its yearly dealership meetings, reported Inside EVs.
Model e was created by Ford in March after it split itself into three entities: Blue Oval, Model e and Pro.
Blue Oval will take responsibility for plug-ins and regular hybrids, while Model e will be responsible for Ford’s fully electric vehicles. Pro is for commercial vehicles.
Inside EVs said that in his Las Vegas presentation, CEO Jim Farley spoke about Tesla’s $2,000 (circa £1,750) price advantage and that Ford had to change how it sold its EVs.
Ford’s dealers across the pond now have until October 31 to decide on one of three options:
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- Becoming a Model e Certified Elite dealership
- Becoming a Model E Certified dealership
- Stop selling Model e vehicles as of January 1, 2024
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The first option will cost dealers between $1m and $1.2m (£875,000 and £1.05m), estimates Ford, with the second one setting them back about $500,000 (£437,500).
Model e Certified Elite dealers will have to have two high-powered DC fast chargers plus a level 2 charging station, and offer at least one DC fast charger for public use.
Up to 90 per cent of the cost is expected to be down to buying and installing the chargers.
Model e Certified dealers, meanwhile, will only have to have one DC fast charger, which must be open to the public. A similar proportion of the cost will again be down to the required chargers
All Model e dealers will have a limit on how many EVs they can sell each year, regardless of volume. Inside EVs said Ford had told it that it hadn’t yet decided on the number. However, it would be small and only to satisfy orders for the most loyal customers.
According to Automotive News, though, the Model E Certified dealers will only get what customers order and won’t have EVs for demonstrations or test drives, and NBC News said the Elite dealerships would be allocated more.
Those dealers that opt out of becoming Model e Certified will forfeit the right to sell any fully electric Fords for three years.
If they decide to become a Model e dealership in three years’ time, they’ll be able to sell EVs from January 2027 if they fulfil Ford’s requirements.
Under US dealer franchise laws, Ford can’t bring in direct sales but dealers will be able to decide on their own set prices.
The new Model e setup will begin on January 1, 2024 and every Ford dealer in the US will be able to sell EVs until then.
Pictured at top is the Ford Mustang Mach-E
