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Canadian Ford Dealers Get Another EV Program Extension

After announcing that it was splitting itself into two distinct entities – Ford Blue for ICE vehicles and Ford Model E for EVs – FoMoCo also informed dealers that they would be required to opt in to one of two programs – Model E Certified or Model E Certified Elite – and invest a significant amount of money if they wish to continue selling all-electric vehicles in the future. That decision didn’t exactly go over smoothly, with some dealers and associations filing lawsuits in the U.S., though ultimately, most chose to not only enroll in one of the two programs, but the majority opted for the top-tier Elite status. But while the deadline to make that decision has come and gone in America, Canadian Ford dealers are still protesting the change, leading to yet another extension, according to Automotive News Canada.

The 440 Ford dealers currently in operation in Canada originally had until December 16th to decide whether they wanted to opt in or opt out of the Model e Certified program, but that deadline was extended to December 30th last month. Now, the automaker has opted to extend the deadline even further – to February 17th – for Canadian Ford dealers. “The dealer consultation process on the Model e program began last spring and to continue these important discussions, the company has extended the enrollment deadline,” Ford said in a statement.

Ford has not yet revealed how many of its Canadian dealers have opted into one of the two Model e Certified programs, but notes that the extension is designed to allow both sides to continue to work through concerns from its dealer network, a process that includes the Ford Dealers RoundTable Association (FDRA).

Many of those concerns come from rural dealers, who don’t believe that the investment required for the installation of fast chargers will ultimately pay off. On the flip side, customers who live in rural areas would be able to drive to a larger city and purchase a Ford EV from a certified dealer, but wouldn’t be able to get that vehicle serviced locally – meaning that it could need to be towed hundreds of miles if the vehicle breaks down or is undriveable.

We’ll have more on the Model e Certified program soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for continuous Ford news coverage.

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.

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Comments

  1. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze.

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  2. Culling the herd. Focus on the urban dealers and leave the small rural dealers alone. Some manufacturers are cost sharing the “transition”. Ford is not

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    1. Please elaborate.

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  3. The issue is access to essential infrastructure…. and yes the result maybe a culling of some rural dealers. I am still surprised that the industry has not joined forces around building and providing fast chargers and related equipment by a dedicated company. Manufacturers building their own for their own will be expensive and a marketing failure. To this point, Ford could think way outside the box… exit building cars and trucks and become a major supplier to the BEV industry as a whole. There are too many players in the manufacturers category and they cannot all survive. Tesla price cutting will be a ruthless paring down of current builders. At the end of the day … how many ‘flashlight builders’ (pun intended) do you need…. an industry consolidation is desperately indicated and needed.

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    1. LoL Long on Tesla and short on Ford Mike is still trying to move the market by promoting Ford committing seppuku.

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      1. This is a blog RWFA…. which most of the participants are so far behind the curve that they actually think they are leading! Of course my ideas are ‘what if’…. something that US industry used to own before they became a bunch of whiners and complainers… but mostly followers and not leaders. You never seem to equivocate about the way forward…why is that? My message for you … look up the meaning of ‘equivocate’. Always enjoy your snappy repartee though!

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        1. I don’t think equivocate means what you think it means.

          Are you sure you looked it up or did you just pull it out of a thesaurus … oh wait … I’m probably giving too much credit again.

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          1. You take criticism well… NOT! To your ask…verb
            “use ambiguous language so as to conceal the truth or avoid committing oneself.” In this context I am referring to ‘ideas’ which you seem to dispose of out of hand most of the time. We agree 9/10 of the time though!

            Reply

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