While FoMoCo’s Model e Certified program proved to be a bit controversial among Ford dealers early on, the majority of U.S.-based entities not only chose to sign up for either Certified or Certified Elite status, but most chose the latter, higher tier model that will allow them to sell all-electric vehicles moving forward. Legalities aside, many Ford dealers were concerned about certain parts of the program – including its requirement to sell EVs at fixed prices, though not all will be subjected to that stipulation – and Canadian dealers were no exception, either. Regardless, it appears that Canadian Ford dealers ultimately decided that these concerns were unwarranted, as most have signed up for the Model e Certified program, according to Automotive News Canada.
A grand total of 338 of Ford Canada’s 440 dealers – or around 77 percent – signed up for the EV certification program, with 112 of them choosing the lower-tier Certified status and 226 opting for the top-tier Model e Certified Elite program. Model e Certified dealers are expected to have to invest as much as $560,000 in sales and service training, as well as the installation of fast chargers, while Certified Elite dealers will need to shell out up to $1.3 million.
Ford wound up pushing back the deadline for Canadian dealers to decide whether to opt in or opt out of either program multiple times as it conjured up some controversy and the threat of legal action, though it’s unclear if the latter materialized in any way, shape, or form. Regardless, those that didn’t opt in to one of the two programs will get a second chance to do so in 2027, and can continue selling ICE and hybrid vehicles in the meantime.
The biggest pushback in Canada came from rural dealers, who didn’t believe that the required investment would pay off, given the lack of infrastructure in those areas at the moment. Regardless, those located in larger, more urban areas clearly saw the benefits of such a move, particularly those that already sell a healthy number of EVs.
We’ll have more on the Model e Certified program soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for comprehensive Ford news coverage.
Comments
Disappointed that Ford caved on the fixed price model.
I suspect though there is some kind of phase out arrangement for such an exclusionary carve-out.
The dealers are just going to push their increased costs down to the customer in the shape of increased service, parts, and document fees. Farley is going to nickel and dime his customers for vehicles that require 3-6 QC recalls following production delays. You need a high quality product to sell before you can start demanding customers pay more, Ford doesn’t have it, thats why they dropped in Customer Satisfaction. The Koreans are killing Ford in QC and styling.
I wasn’t aware that dealers could charge more than the Ford’s list price for service parts.
If dealers try to pad the service hours, that will come back to bite them. It’s a good thing that EVs require so little service.
I’m not sure how anybody even falls for documentation charges nowadays but if Ford’s no haggle is an out the door price then documentation markups will be hard to push thru.
I guess the charge for shop rags will be where all the markups will have to go.
A small rural dealer will never recoup their 560,000.00 investment. Many currently sell under 250 new units per year. The majority of those sales are F-Series trucks meant to work, haul & tow. Something the Lightning does very poorly. As a former rural Ford dealer I’m glad I sold my business 18 months ago. When the government tries to force everyone to drive EV’s soon it’s going to get really ugly for small operators!
There will be a wave of consolidation because the sales, distribution and service model is based on the last century’s technology and way of doing things.
Scamming the middle man in the name of “the environnnnnnment”. Ever notice how the “environmental friendly” stuff always costs more?
Maybe because you are so busy focusing on price you have no time to consider fully accounted cost.
It’ll be interesting to see what the revenue shift between EV sales and service actually becomes relative to a comparable ICE dealer model. Maybe the fixed selling price has more to do with the lack of expected revenue from service, given the promise of fewer component parts in an EV build as opposed to an ICE build.
Agreed.
Ford plays the dealer body as bad characters. Using mass and social media to misdirect and self promotion. When in fact Ford’s failure to roll out product in a timely manner yet compound their errors with the worse quality since the 1970s. But Farley achieved social media bragging rights “fastest selling – sold out “ . But with – delays – falling stock prices – dramatic price increases – oh did I mention lousy quality? It is the dealer at the front line fighting for customers who would rather purchase their vehicle off lease than afford new. Did I mention worse quality? Farley got it right? Transfer tooling on sedans to China. Put money into EV and Broncos. Have dealers contract pay too much too soon to follow California EPA standards. Too much too soon. He’s like Microsoft’s AI chatbot. Looks good, but unhinged. Farley should try to get his hands on a Transit and live in the Van by the river. Wait to we see the intended consequences of lay offs. Element commodity issues.
Customers generally hate the dealer experience, that’s nobody’s fault but the dealers.
The laundry list of things you cite have little to do with the specific subject of this article and are not worth replying to.
Dd you know Mach e invoice is more than the MSRP? No Holdback. Dealer shortages due to commodity issues. Recalls. Excuses, excuses by Farley and Ford’s board of misdirection. Dealers now get paid by ford. That’s why they don’t argue price fix. Yet, dealers short sheeting their sales force. Next time buy your Ford at Costco and go to Google for a detailed walk around, pair your phone, sign up the Ford Pass App, make sure detailed right, gas full, call to get questions answered after the sale
Given what you write here, those alternatives don’t sound so bad, and the model Ford is aiming for sounds even better.