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

[02Reaper]

give them call, and first thing they tell you is the ADM price (not MSRP)

mid you find an exception, buy it

Probably few and far between to find an exception. They will put you down on a list to bid against other people on the list and sell it to the highest bidder. They won't state a price.

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[IdeaOfTheDayCom]

Makes sense to start with Model E, but I would like to see pricing transparency across all lines.

I think they have a lot more flexibility with Model E because technically its a new division so they aren't restricted by the franchise agreements written decades ago.

I'm hoping the dealers are putting in 4 DCFC that are at least 150 kW speed. That would be really helpful in growing the network. I wonder if they will partner with EA or use another provider and white label it as Blue Oval Charging Network?

The dealerships that have chargers (that I have seen) don't charge to use them...but they aren't really easy to access. Like they'll ICE them or they'll rope chains across the stalls, place them on the backside of the building, and whatever odd sort of hassle they can conjure up.

I don't see Ford dealerships just setting these up in the parking lots like a Costco so people can easily and freely come and go.

When I first took delivery of my Mach E last year, my dealer had exactly one charger and although it was visible in apps like PlugShare, I fully understood the reason they didn't allow customers to use it because they only had one and they needed to use it for charging their inventory.

Since they wouldn't need fast DC chargers for that, I think they would definitely open those to the public, and although they wouldn't be free, they would be part of the Blue Oval Network, so we would get our 250 Kwh of free power before paying. After that we would likely get member's discount compared to what they offered to customers outside the network.

This would be similar to the discounts EVgo and Electrify America offer when you pay a monthly fee.

Yeah... thats not how this is going to play out. Dealers will be required to have customer facing dcfc available 24/7. These announcements today will represent probably 750 million to 1 trillion dollars spent on dcfc infrastructure in the next 18 months. Dealers will try to capitalize on income from chargers to help offset the cost. I will not be surprised to see Dealers add coffee shops or such on dealer property to again capitalize on the charging installation costs. Most dealership have lots of available space since inventories of new vehicles are pretty much non existent.

Absolutely... and to me that's just a temporary step in the big EV picture. Tesla and traditional gas stations like BP are starting to build EV charging / food destinations that take advantage of the extra time needed to charge.

To me, the most logical place for DC fast chargers is simply in the existing rest areas along highways. That's really the only time you need fast charging, and they already have food, restrooms, etc. In my travels, I've only seen 3 rest areas with DC chargers, and one was just for Teslas.

 

[cvalue13]

Pasting InsideEV article below


Ford Gives Dealers Six Weeks To
Decide If They Want To Continue
Selling EVs

Dealers are either all in on electrification or they're going to be left out.

Tom Moloughney

In what will certainly send shock waves across the industry, Ford dropped a bomb at its annual dealership meetings in Las Vegas this week. InsideEVs was one of only a handful of news outlets invited to get an early look at the new Model E dealership rules, which included a presentation from Ford CEO Jim Farley.

In short, Ford is telling its dealer network they have to invest, evolve, improve, and offer new services if they want to be a Model Edealership and sell electric vehicles. Model E is a new division that was created when Ford split the company into three arms: Ford Blue Oval, Ford Pro, and Ford Model e. All of Ford's fully electric vehicles now fall under the Model e umbrella, while plug-in hybrids and regular hybrids are part of Ford Blue Oval.

Farley talked plenty about Tesla, and how the startup electric vehicle manufacturer has roughly a $2,000 price advantage over Ford.

He saidthat Ford and its dealers need to, and have been, working to narrow that gap.
He explained how he believes that as Tesla scales up, it will be forced to change how it does business and its operations will begin to look more like traditional dealer networks. In fact, he's already seeing that in Tesla's operations in Norway.

With that, he also believes that Ford needs to change the way it sells electric vehicles, and the first major steps to that transformation are happening now.

Three Options

Ford is giving its dealers until October 31st of this year – less than two months – to make a decision that will have huge implications for the future of the franchise. The company is offering its dealers three options:

• Become a Model E Certified Elite dealership

• Become a Model E Certified dealership

• Discontinue selling Model E vehicles effective January 1st, 2024

At a minimum, Model E Elite dealers will need to install two high- powered DC fast chargers and a level 2 charging station, as well as offer at least one DC fast charger available for the public to use. Ford estimates the all-in cost for dealers to become Model e certified elite to be between $1.0 and $1.2 million, with as much as 90% of the cost attributed to the cost to purchase and install the required charging infrastructure.

Model E Certified dealers are only required to install one DC fastcharger, and it must be made available for public use. However, Model e dealers will have a hard cap on the number of EVs they are allowed to sell each year, and that number will be the same for all Model E shops, regardless of annual volume.
Ford told us that it hasn't decided exactly what that number will be, but it will be small and intended to only satisfy orders for the dealer's most loyal customers. Ford estimates the cost for dealers to become Model e certified will be about $500,000, again, with as much as 90% of the cost attributed to charging infrastructure.

We've been studying Tesla closely, especially with how their brand has scaled with units and operations in Norway and what we've noticed is that they have almost 1,200 employees now and they have very much dealer-like facilities and we think that's the direction they'll go as they scale their operations in the United States - Jim Farley, CEO, Ford Motor Company

And finally, dealers have the option of not becoming Model E Certified at all. If they choose that route, they give up the right to sell any fully electric Ford vehicles for three years. At some point in 2025, they will have the opportunity to tell Ford that they wish to become a Model e certified or Elite-certified dealership, and provided they complete the requirements, they will be allowed to start selling EVs in January 2027.

If they do choose to opt-out of becoming a Model E Certified dealer now, there will be no opportunity of becoming one until 2027.
This first stage of Model E evolution will be in effect from January 1st, 2024, through December 31st, 2026. The decision dealerships make now will be in effect through 2026 and dealers cannot change theirModel e certification status until January 1st, 2027. All dealers will continue to be able to sell EVs until January 1st, 2024, when the new Model e rules begin.


Five Pillars

Ford explains that its Model E dealership strategy will be built upon five pillars:

• Training: Dealers will need to undergo extensive EV training on an ongoing basis

• Charging: Model e dealers must have adequate level 2 and DC fast charging, with at least one DC fast charger available to the public

• Set Pricing: Transparent, non-negotiable pricing available online

• Excellent physical experience: Model e dealers must deliver an excellent ownership experience, including complimentary pickup and drop off for vehicle service visits

• Develop digital experience: Invest in building a digital ownership experience for the future

No-Haggle Pricing, But Not Direct Sales

When Ford announced the creation of Ford Model E, some speculated that one of the purposes may be to try to implement a hybrid version of a direct sales model in which customers would order their EVs directly from Ford but take delivery from a local dealer.

That won't be the case. The dealer franchise laws are very clear, and Ford cannot sell vehicles to consumers directly even if they wanted to. The only reason EV upstarts like Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid are able to (and even these companies are banned from selling vehicles in some states) is because they don't have an existing network of dealerships, as Ford does.

But Ford believes its dealer network is a strength, not a weakness, they just need to improve the sales process and customer experience with electric vehicles, and that's exactly what Model e aims to do.

The new rules for Model e dealerships require dealers to post set prices for the electric vehicles online at Ford's website. Customers can view the set pricing, complete the purchase online, and even schedule home delivery. But ultimately, it's the dealer's decision what the set pricing will be for the vehicles, and there will likely be price variation from dealer to dealer. Customers will be able to cross-shop different local dealers' prices online, and then choose the one with the lowest set price. The dealers must honor the set pricing for every purchase, and Ford will be checking the purchase orders to make sure that happens.

This new system gives the customer the option of doing everything online and completely eliminates the need to visit the dealership. Of course, if the customer prefers to visit the dealership, kick the tires and complete the purchase agreement in person, they are still welcome to do so. However, it will be for the same price they could have purchased it online from the Ford.com website, the dealers cannot change the price once it's set.

Charging Is Key

A huge (and most expensive) part of the Model E certification is the requirement for dealers to provide DC fast chargers with a minimum output of 120 kW. The chargers must be readily accessible on the property and available to the public. This requirement was born from the fact that Ford knows that a major pain point for consumers transitioning to EVs is the concern over fast charging availability, especially for those that live in apartments and cannot charge at home.
Dealers will be able to tell customers that whenever they need to charge, wherever they are, they can find a Ford dealership nearby where they can plug in. That's because Ford currently has 2,991 dealerships in the US and 96% of Americans live within 25 miles of a Ford dealership, and 85% live within 10 miles. So basically, you're just about always close to a Ford dealer, and if they all install DC fast chargers, the Blue Oval Charging Network will have pins on the map just about everywhere.
The service providers that will assist Ford's dealers with EV charging infrastructure
Ford has also established relationships with three charging station installation providers; ABB, Entech, and AGI. These companies specialize in facilitating the installation of DC fast chargers, which can be quite complicated as well as expensive.

Depending on where the dealer is located, one of these companies will assist the dealer during the entire process, from filing the necessary permits to utility interconnection, to the actual installation of thestations and even making sure the dealer gets any available public funding available for EV charging infrastructure.

This is a very important component of the plan because installing high- powered DC fast chargers is a complicated process, one that most dealers will require assistance with. Ford also has programs in place to provide financing to its dealers for large capital improvements like this if the dealer needs financial assistance.

Bold New Start

We think Model E's new rules are a good start for the brand. Ford talked a good game at the meetings; everything was about building a better customer experience, offering the customer more options, evolving to meet a changing marketplace, everything we want to hear.

However, it will all come down to execution, as it always does. What will be the uptake from dealers? How competitive will the new no-haggle set prices be? The dealers are the ones setting the prices, so what if they all set prices above MSRP? How reliable will Ford's DC fast chargers be? Will Ford monitor the uptime of the units and force the dealers to quickly repair the chargers when they go offline?
There are still a lot of unknowns to this plan, but we give Ford credit for being the first existing OEM to attempt to improve its EV buying experience in such a significant way.

 

[F150ROD]

That’s awesome, I’m sure there will still be doubters(me for pricing) or people complaining that’s it’s not enough. But this is a start. I think the crucial part is the pricing, they are still letting dealers set pricing.

So if I have 5 dealers near me and only 1 chooses to go EV, they can set the price to what they want and the consumer is still screwed? This doesn’t make sense.

 

[ExCivilian]

When I first took delivery of my Mach E last year, my dealer had exactly one charger and although it was visible in apps like PlugShare, I fully understood the reason they didn't allow customers to use it because they only had one and they needed to use it for charging their inventory.

they wouldn't be free, they would be part of the Blue Oval Network, so we would get our 250 Kwh of free power before paying

Was your MME fully charged when you picked it up? This will be my fourth EV and, if it's fully charged when I pick it up, this will be the first time a dealership has charged it up.

The Lightning I took for a test drive was about halfway charged. Every other BEV, PHEV, or hybrid has been either fully discharged or less than 30% charged when I took them for test drives. I don't know if it's laziness, not knowing, or an attempt to limit the miles a test driver can put on them but that's been my experience over the past decade or so.

For that matter, what inventory do they even have that needs constant charging? For the past two years they haven't even had any vehicles on their lots. Before that they didn't want to sell EVs so dealerships tended to have like one or two max. No, the reason they don't let customers use them is the same reason they don't let customers have anything, not even your own vehicle, at reasonable terms is because of their business model however you want to label that.

Your example seems to underscore my point: dealerships that already have charging stations have a myriad of reasons to deny customer access to them so without some explicit mechanism compelling them to behave otherwise they will continue to behave that way. Requiring or subsidizing the dealerships into installing them doesn't solve the problem of access.

The 250 kWh we get for free is with Electrify America, right? I haven't heard anything about free electrons from the Blue Oval Network. Dollars to doughnuts if Ford offers free charging to customers, and offers to reimburse dealerships for allowing customers to charge for free, those chargers will become personal charging stations for the dealership.

I do agree that rest areas are the ideal charging station sites. Not only because that's where we need them on our routes, but also because they are predominantly money-losers and we're a long way away from unsubsidized networks.

 

[IdeaOfTheDayCom]

Was your MME fully charged when you picked it up? This will be my fourth EV and, if it's fully charged when I pick it up, this will be the first time a dealership has charged it up.

The Lightning I took for a test drive was about halfway charged. Every other BEV, PHEV, or hybrid has been either fully discharged or less than 30% charged when I took them for test drives. I don't know if it's laziness, not knowing, or an attempt to limit the miles a test driver can put on them but that's been my experience over the past decade or so.

You are correct. When I got my MME, it only had about 30% charge because I literally drove off the lot about an hour after deciding to buy it, so they only had it on the charger for about an hour.

For that matter, what inventory do they even have that needs constant charging? For the past two years they haven't even had any vehicles on their lots. Before that they didn't want to sell EVs so dealerships tended to have like one or two max. No, the reason they don't let customers use them is the same reason they don't let customers have anything, not even your own vehicle, at reasonable terms is because of their business model however you want to label that.

My dealer had about 40-50 Mach-E's in their inventory when I picked it out. That was last October. I'm not sure how long it sat on the lot drawing power, but it was super low when I drove it home. From June to the time I got mine, they consistently had about 35+ in their lot at any given time.

I didn't have a home charger and there are no easy access outlets in front of my house so I really needed to find a charger right away and they made it clear that the charger on their lot was not for public use.

The 250 kWh we get for free is with Electrify America, right? I haven't heard anything about free electrons from the Blue Oval Network. Dollars to doughnuts if Ford offers free charging to customers, and offers to reimburse dealerships for allowing customers to charge for free, those chargers will become personal charging stations for the dealership.

I got 250 kWh with the MME and only used a few kWh on one long trip in the 10 months I had it.

As far as I know, Lightnings should also get 250 kWh too. Since I generally charge at home, I may not use that much, but it's good to know its there. It's not worth much. It's basically 2-3 full charges, but I love the fact that you don't need to subscribe to EA's membership to get a good rate, and it recognizes the vehicle just by plugging it in.

 

[adoublee]

If I were a dealer considering EV buy-in, I'd be demanding a contract describing how allocations will be handled for every State no matter ZEV status.

 

[sotek2345]

Was your MME fully charged when you picked it up? This will be my fourth EV and, if it's fully charged when I pick it up, this will be the first time a dealership has charged it up.

For ordered vehicles, Ford's policy is that they get charged to 100% as part of PDI. Some people on the Mach-e forums (me included) have had to wait overnight to pick up their vehicles so it could charge.

 

[sotek2345]

That’s awesome, I’m sure there will still be doubters(me for pricing) or people complaining that’s it’s not enough. But this is a start. I think the crucial part is the pricing, they are still letting dealers set pricing.

So if I have 5 dealers near me and only 1 chooses to go EV, they can set the price to what they want and the consumer is still screwed? This doesn’t make sense.

Well - remote delivery must also be offered. If a local dealer has bad pricing, order from further away and have it delivered.

 

[greenne]

Well - remote delivery must also be offered. If a local dealer has bad pricing, order from further away and have it delivered.

Smart dealers will know consumers can/will shop nationwide so they will have to keep prices competitive. Last 3 cars I bought were out of state at non local dealer. Fly in-drive home was still cheaper than the local dealer as each dealer was WAY under the price of my local dealer(s) for same vehicle.

The only thing that makes ADM possible is the short supply and allocation process. Once any dealer can order for any customer who chooses to buy the ADM nonsense will go away.

 

[ExCivilian]

The only thing that makes ADM possible is the short supply and allocation process. Once any dealer can order for any customer who chooses to buy the ADM nonsense will go away.

ADM has been on vehicles for as long as I can remember.

 

[ChrisCon]

Just wanted to give a shoutout to my preferred Ford dealer, Otis Ford who already started , this week, installation of all the conduit, and electrical upgrades to install fast DC chargers. This included tearing up their entire parking lot and installing numerous underground upgrades to make way for this monumental change.. In less than 2 months since this announcement, they are leading the way of Ford dealers in the country,

 

[greenne]

ADM has been on vehicles for as long as I can remember.

You must have a keen eye on the latest and greatest. I've never paid ADM, not even on the Lightning.

ADM was always a possibility on rare, muscle, special edition or really "hot" vehicles. Only in the past 2yrs has it been added to practically everything.. even mainline Kias.

When supply catches up, ADM will go away. When the economy turns south (it will) look for incentives and deals. maybe not on EVs but most surely on regular plain jane ICE models.

 

[RickLightning]

You must have a keen eye on the latest and greatest. I've never paid ADM, not even on the Lightning.

ADM was always a possibility on rare, muscle, special edition or really "hot" vehicles. Only in the past 2yrs has it been added to practically everything.. even mainline Kias.

When supply catches up, ADM will go away. When the economy turns south (it will) look for incentives and deals. maybe not on EVs but most surely on regular plain jane ICE models.

It always amazed me, pre-pandemic, how people would pay over MSRP for any vehicle. Thousands in dealer add-ons? Sure, no problem.

We started using X-Plan in 2009 and never negotiated again (now have A-Plan). Previously, I never paid MSRP, always negotiated down or walked.

 

[greenne]

It always amazed me, pre-pandemic, how people would pay over MSRP for any vehicle. Thousands in dealer add-ons? Sure, no problem.

We started using X-Plan in 2009 and never negotiated again (now have A-Plan). Previously, I never paid MSRP, always negotiated down or walked.

Its the same people that are pushing this "direct sales" nonsense so we all can pay more for less..

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