Last year, Ford asked its 3,000 U.S. dealers to make a choice: agree to upgrade your facilities to support the EV revolution or forego the ability to sell Ford electric cars. The company gave them a short window of time to make the decision. Fish or cut bait was the message. Speaking at the Automotive News World Congress last December, So said Ford CEO Jim Farley 1,920 Ford dealers enrolled in the Model e program for 2024-2026.
Of those, 1,659 chose the highest level, the ‘certified elite’, which gives them full sales and service capabilities and requires a higher level of investment. Another 261 dealers chose to become “certified” with full service capabilities, a limit on the number of EVs they can sell, and a lower investment requirement. Those who have not registered this time will get another chance in 2026. “We are committed to the franchise system. Now the largest luxury brand in the United States [Tesla] not,” said Farley. “And we’re betting on the dealer guessing process.”
Now comes the news that 53 of the dealers who signed up for the “certified elite” program have withdrawn their applications, while 24 dealers have joined the “certified” program. Ford recently changed the top tier requirements by removing the provision requiring them to have chargers available to the public 24 hours a day (many dealerships have gates that lock when the shop is closed). In addition, Ford has removed the provision requiring dealers to sell a minimum of 25 electric vehicles per year to compete at the “certified” level. Apparently, several dealers are hesitant to be able to sell so many EVs, which gives you an idea of how little they believe the EV revolution is actually happening.
“It is important that dealers have the opportunity to do what they think is best for their business and their customers for the 2024-2026 period. As we continue to scale our EV volumes, our second enrollment period will open for 2027-2029,” said a Ford spokesperson. Automotive news.
Ford Mustang Mach-E, image courtesy of Ford
Ford dealers in North Carolina are rebelling
However, there are rumors of mutiny on the hustings. 46 Ford dealers in North Carolina have filed a petition against the Model e Certified programs with that state’s motor vehicle commissioner. “The dealers were waiting to see what changes Ford would make to the Model e program at NADA, and unfortunately those changes were not enough to address these dealers’ concerns,” said Shawn Mercer, who represents the dealers. Automotive news. “It wasn’t enough to address illegal aspects of the program or allay legitimate concerns about excessive interference by Ford in the day-to-day operations of dealers.”
That petition read in part“Through the EV program, Ford is trying to force dealers to spend unnecessarily large sums of money to continue selling vehicles they already have permission to sell. Ford’s EV program will serve to reduce the number of Ford dealerships in North Carolina and further limit consumer access to electric vehicles, particularly for citizens living in parts of North Carolina outside of major cities.”
Before you all break down in tears over those poor dealers in North Carolina, consider this story from WSOC TV. It says that a customer of Mark Ficken Ford in South Charlotte agreed to buy a Ford truck for $74,000, but when he came back to pick it up, he was given a contract totaling $117,000. The customer says that his signature on the contract is a forgery. The case is now on appeal.
Meanwhile, the governor of that state in Mississippi recently signed into law legislation designed to protect the good people of the state of Magnolia from the scourge of electric car companies selling electric cars through a “shop” rather than through a regular dealer. Coincidentally, Tesla has a “store” in Mississippi, but is not a franchised dealer. The state’s car dealerships exerted their considerable influence over the legislature to get the new law passed.
“We’re saying that if you choose to have a physical dealer, you have to follow the same laws that everyone has to follow,” said Sen. Daniel Sparks, according to the Associated Press. “Please don’t tell me Tesla’s car doesn’t identify as a car.” His colleague, Joey Fillingane, said the bill could cause Mississippi to fall behind other states in the race to attract investment from electric car companies. “Maybe we just like to always be last. Maybe it’s a badge of honor – we’re the last to change. If we are not careful … we could deprive our citizens of opportunities that they should not miss.”
The takeaway meals
Mississippi wants to enshrine the divine right of dealers to haggle with customers like carpet sellers in a bazaar, regardless of whether they sell electric or conventional cars. Of course, there are some who think they can beat the dealers at their own game, even though the dealers make the rules and have been playing the game for nearly a century. They know, “It’s not the deal you got; it’s the deal you think you have.” Dealers have a million and one ways to make you think you got a great deal, while in the back room they joke about what a quiet you are and smiling all the way to the bank.
It’s all about power. The dealers have it and are doing everything they can to hold on to it. For manufacturers, building cars to order is more efficient and therefore more profitable. Filling dealer lots with unsold cars is just a wasteful way of doing business. An oft-quoted saying in the sales game is “You can’t sell from an empty car,” and there’s some truth to that. People like to see well-stocked shelves and acres of new cars waiting for the right buyer. But isn’t the internet really the ultimate well-stocked wagon? Any vehicle anyone could want is out there online, just a click away.
Some thought the franchise dealership model would disappear long before that, but they underestimated the sheer power of car dealerships as they dispersed all that campaign money around the halls of government. Even Elon Musk has failed to dilute dealer power in many states.
The auto industry is changing, but slowly, as those franchised dealers are dragged kicking and screaming into the brave new world of electric car marketing. The question we have here CleanTechnica is, what are all those Ford dealers who don’t want to sell electric cars going to do if Ford only makes electric cars? Maybe they are asking for a government rescue package. That’s the American way.
I don’t like paywalls. You don’t like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we implemented a restricted paywall for a while, but it always felt wrong – and it was always hard to decide what to put behind that. In theory, your most exclusive and best content goes behind a paywall. But then less people will read it! We just don’t like paywalls so we decided to drop ours.
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