Lincoln Dealers Get Reprieve From EV Charging Requirement

Ford’s new Model e Certified program for dealers has been the subject of much controversy over the past few months, with a few stipulations prompting a handful of dealerships to protest and even take legal action against the automaker. Regardless, the majority of Blue Oval dealers chose to opt into one of the two available tiers – most in the higher, Model e Certified Elite program – and after some negotiations, the automaker also changed some of the program’s requirements, as Ford Authority reported yesterday. Now, Lincoln dealers are getting their own update as well, according to Automotive News.

That change mirrors one that The Blue Oval made just yesterday for its Ford-branded dealers – removing a requirement that Lincoln dealers offer 24/7 public charging access at their facilities. Such a move would have required that staff be present at dealerships in certain states at all times charging is offered, which is where this pushback originated. Now, Lincoln dealers will only be required to offer public charging access Monday through Saturday from 7am to 8pm.

While Ford is allowing its dealers to either opt in, opt out, or switch tiers following its recently changes, that apparently won’t be the case for Lincoln dealers, however. “We’d have to make more of a sizable change before we’d consider reopening that up,” said Lincoln president Dianne Craig. However, she did note that the brand is open to further discussions and making additional changes if needed.

In addition to changing this charging hours requirement, Ford dealers opting into the lower-tier Model e Certified program will no longer be strapped with a 25 EV per year sales cap, though no new limit has yet been determined. Additionally, those dealers will also be listed on Ford.com – though they still won’t be able to carry any physical EV inventory – and will only be required to spend $15,000 on employee training versus the original $25,000 investment.

Meanwhile, Lincoln dealers that did opt into the new EV certification program will be required to invest around $900k on infrastructure upgrades and training as the luxury brand prepares to launch four new all-electric vehicles by 2026. Regardless, as was the case with Ford dealers, the majority of Lincoln sellers ultimately decided to opt into the program.

We’ll have more on the new Lincoln EV certification program soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Lincoln news, and comprehensive Ford news coverage.