With new vehicle inventory dwindling on dealer lots because of the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage and subsequent production cuts, dealers and automakers have little to sell at the moment. Thus, Ford has decided to ramp up its vehicle incentives on models that are currently out of stock in an effort to drum up sales, according to a letter sent to dealers that was seen by Cars Direct.
The vehicle incentives in question are what the automaker calls its Retail Order Bonus Cash Certificate, which is good for $1,000 off most new vehicle orders now through July 6th. Previously, Ford offered a $500 incentive through its Retail Order Incentive Program to customers who placed an order for a new vehicle.
The deal is retroactive for orders placed from April 1st forward, while the automaker has also been giving dealers $250 for each vehicle order placed, which will continue through June. This larger incentive doesn’t apply to all Ford vehicles, however, as it excludes both the Ford Bronco and Ford Mustang Mach-E. However, it does apply to the Ford F-150 and Ford Bronco Sport.
What this essentially means is that Ford is paying customers to wait for their vehicles. How long they will wait, however, is currently unclear. The automaker recently said that it may be forced to cut up to 50 percent of its Q2 production as the chip shortage rages on, and recently lost nearly 100,000 units in one week.
Opinions on when the chip shortage might actually end vary greatly. Some think that inventory will start to improve as soon as Q3, while others believe it will take years for things to return to normal levels. Regardless, in the meantime, automakers including Ford must figure out how to circumvent the problem, which includes making changes to the design of certain components and securing chips from manufacturers themselves rather than via third-party suppliers.
We’ll have more on the latest Ford incentives soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for non-stop Ford news coverage.
Comments
They will need to offer more then $1000 off for me to order a new Ford vehicle with an unknown and lengthy delivery time.
This is clearly one of those things where ” We’ve Always Done It This Way “. Ford is in a crisis.
Any auto manufacturer that relies on chips or foam is in trouble right now. After hearing rumors of a rubber shortage…I’d take what you can get…it’s only going to get worse before it gets better.
Hello what about a incentive for people who ordered F150 before April 1st . That’s not right
Are the F150 coming I ordered first of March , and no truck yet , and no incentive
If I order a new F150 in July will I get a 2021 or 2022 model I do not want a new truck that is a year old
My 2021 f150 was ordered in april, when and if i get my truck will it be a 21, or 22. This is two long to wait on a vehickle.
I ordered my F-150 in Feb and it was build March 29th and it is still sitting somewhere in Michigan
I’m still waiting and I don’t get an additional incentive. I should cancel and reorder the same truck to get the additional $1000’s