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

charliemagpie

Well-known member
First Name
Charlie
Joined
Jul 6, 2021
Threads
42
Messages
2,886
Reaction score
5,133
Location
Australia
Vehicles
CybrBEAST
Occupation
retired
Country flag
Who cares about Norway...?

Kudos to Ford for trying, but I think there more to it.

The Elephant in the room:

Ford wants to extend dealers' lifespan in order to continue to service their warranties, keep their parts manufacturers under control, maintain parts as profitable they can, and manage their way out of the coming mess.

The dealers who pick up Fords offer, will rely on their brethren to close down, so they can take that territory to make this temporary transition towards death more profitable than otherwise.

Operating with 10% extra 'anywhere', in a competitive environment, is not Harvard 101.
Sponsored

 

charliemagpie

Well-known member
First Name
Charlie
Joined
Jul 6, 2021
Threads
42
Messages
2,886
Reaction score
5,133
Location
Australia
Vehicles
CybrBEAST
Occupation
retired
Country flag
Tesla has service centers, not dealerships.

Tesla has staff operating and not owners who buy mansions.

Apart from exceptions, Tesla operation is optimal.

Fords 10% is a total cost. Any initiatives at the dealership level go to the dealer. It's a pure cost center.

Any initiatives in a Tesla service center go back 100% to Tesla.
A Tesla Service center has potential to turn into a profit center. ( ie wraps)

Who is not going to survive? The other isn't.
 
OP
OP
cvalue13

cvalue13

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 17, 2022
Threads
74
Messages
7,130
Reaction score
13,724
Location
Austin, TX
Vehicles
F150L
Occupation
Fun-employed
Country flag
The kool-aid is strong with this one!

Tesla Cybertruck Ford Gives Dealers Six Weeks To Decide If They Want To Continue Selling EVs 1663331963940



Norway is just an example of what happens when the market shifts to mostly EVs.

-Crissa
yes, though Farley’s take seems to suggest it a natural consequence of such penetration, that Tesla will need to move more toward a dealer-like model. Details on that suggestion, or critiques of it, are interesting.

Tesla Cybertruck Ford Gives Dealers Six Weeks To Decide If They Want To Continue Selling EVs 1663332651034


Tesla Cybertruck Ford Gives Dealers Six Weeks To Decide If They Want To Continue Selling EVs 1663332843213
 

charliemagpie

Well-known member
First Name
Charlie
Joined
Jul 6, 2021
Threads
42
Messages
2,886
Reaction score
5,133
Location
Australia
Vehicles
CybrBEAST
Occupation
retired
Country flag
So Farley is saying Tesla needs to be more like us

So if Tesla needs a racehorse, it should form a committee., compromise it, and comes up with a Donkey. Oopps sorry.. a dealership.
 


OP
OP
cvalue13

cvalue13

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 17, 2022
Threads
74
Messages
7,130
Reaction score
13,724
Location
Austin, TX
Vehicles
F150L
Occupation
Fun-employed
Country flag
So Farley is saying Tesla needs to be more like us

So if Tesla needs a racehorse, it should form a committee., compromise it, and comes up with a Donkey. Oopps sorry.. a dealership.
no I don’t think that’s what he’s saying at all

instead he’s suggesting simultaneously:

(1) Ford’s dealership model needs to become more like Teslas (perhaps uncontroversial), but also

(2) As Tesla scales, it’s model will likewise need to start to look a bit more like Ford’s, as can be seen in Norway (what is an intriguing and/or controversial take)

Combined, the suggestion is that as EVs scale the market forces will cause both models to change, and begin converging

I’m not here arguing for it, but instead only curious about it. In particular, back to my actual question, if people familiar with what’s going on in Norway might know what Farley is referring to.
 

Crissa

Well-known member
First Name
Crissa
Joined
Jul 8, 2020
Threads
126
Messages
16,211
Reaction score
27,068
Location
Santa Cruz
Vehicles
2014 Zero S, 2013 Mazda 3
Country flag
So Farley is saying Tesla needs to be more like us

So if Tesla needs a racehorse, it should form a committee., compromise it, and comes up with a Donkey. Oopps sorry.. a dealership.
No, at a certain point, the buyers become less informed, less self-sufficient. Only so much of the population is self-starting, well-informed on any subject. They need more hand-holding when it comes to receiving or ordering their car.

That's it. They're dealerships only in appearance, they're just showrooms where sales clerks help walk people through the processof ordering or receiving their product.

-Crissa
 
OP
OP
cvalue13

cvalue13

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 17, 2022
Threads
74
Messages
7,130
Reaction score
13,724
Location
Austin, TX
Vehicles
F150L
Occupation
Fun-employed
Country flag
That's it. They're dealerships only in appearance, they're just showrooms where sales clerks help walk people through the processof ordering or receiving their product.
precisely what Ford has already begun for its EVs

presently for the Lightning, a person can online both order and upon delivery also print out all paperwork for the final purchase - and if they’ve selected Ford credit, even pay for it - all before meeting at the dealership to grab the keys.

My rep at the dealership was nothing more than a sales clerk - except as an early adopter, my sales clerk was completely ignorant. And, under the present structure, I could have showed up to pick up the keys and my sales clerk surprise me with a $5,000 ADM.

Farley is here saying, you can’t be ignorant anymore, and you dealership have to commit to your pricing upfront - high or low - but no gotchas.
 

Cybertruckee

Banned
Well-known member
Banned
First Name
Yosemite Sam
Joined
Apr 21, 2020
Threads
10
Messages
553
Reaction score
579
Location
Mostly under the pines
Vehicles
Red Rider
Occupation
Finance Manager
Country flag
It's huge capital expenditure baby!

Wrong timing to borrow with the high interest rates.
 
OP
OP
cvalue13

cvalue13

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 17, 2022
Threads
74
Messages
7,130
Reaction score
13,724
Location
Austin, TX
Vehicles
F150L
Occupation
Fun-employed
Country flag
and they’re both making more money than ever
 


charliemagpie

Well-known member
First Name
Charlie
Joined
Jul 6, 2021
Threads
42
Messages
2,886
Reaction score
5,133
Location
Australia
Vehicles
CybrBEAST
Occupation
retired
Country flag
They have their parts business and they still have ICE sales, the EV is at 10%.

There is current and residual cash flow for many more years.

They will go away over time, just like video stores.

Totally agree, looks good on paper for me too. For now.
 
Last edited:

CyberBC

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 22, 2019
Threads
21
Messages
146
Reaction score
306
Location
Salmon Arm, BC
Vehicles
04 Dodge Ram 3500, 2011 Chevy Volt
Occupation
Farrier
Country flag
Here in Canada, VW is doing a similar thing with pricing for the ID4. When you build your car on-line you select a dealer and get a price. That price differs between dealers. For me it was a question of whether it was worth it to drive further for pickup and service to get a better price. Having the price differentials this easily comparable should mean they won't be able to jack up the price much. Interesting.
 

CyberBC

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 22, 2019
Threads
21
Messages
146
Reaction score
306
Location
Salmon Arm, BC
Vehicles
04 Dodge Ram 3500, 2011 Chevy Volt
Occupation
Farrier
Country flag
VW also seems to be quietly weeding out the dealers. Our local VW dealer was on the list for ID4s last year but not now.
 
 




Top