Proactive Investors - A third of Ford’s dealerships in the US have chosen not to enrol in its electric vehicle programme until at least 2027, potentially delivering a blow to its plan to challenge Tesla for the number one spot.
Ford announced the plans last week for its network of 3,000 US dealers, with the programme requiring them to invest in various tiers of on-site charging infrastructure and to agree to no-haggle pricing.
Some dealers immediately indicated they were unhappy with the costs involved, which at the lower or ‘certified’ level requires US$500,000 of charger investment per site which rises to US$1.2mln for ‘certified elite’ dealers who fully sign up to the programme and will install two chargers.
As part of the deal, the retailers won’t hold any EV stocks but ‘loyal 'customers will be supplied on a ‘build-to-order’ basis.
Ford said yesterday that around 1,000 had taken a third option, which was not to sell any EVs until 2027.
Dealers who opted out can join again in 2025, which would then allow them to sell EVs in 2027.
The company is trying to claw back ground from Tesla in the battle for supremacy in the burgeoning EV market, with Elon Musk’s company already having a cost advantage by selling directly to drivers.
Unveiling its plans Jim Farley, Ford’s chief executive, said: “We’re betting on the dealers. We’re not going direct. But we need to specialize.”
He also described it as the “biggest opportunity for growth and value creation since Henry Ford started to scale the Model T, and we’re grabbing it with both hands.”
Farley said that of the 1,920 dealers that have enrolled in the Model e program, some1,659 chose the Certified Elite tier with 261 on the Certified level.
Experts said even with a third of dealers not signing up, Ford will still have a comprehensive charging network in place relatively quickly given its current US coverage and have more locations than Tesla though fewer charging points.
Ford confirmed the dealers' charging points will be available for the general public to use.