50 Percent Of Ford Dealers Opt Out Of EV Sales For 2024

December 21, 2023 9:17 am

Since it announced the Model e Certified program last year, Ford has dealt with its fair share of backlash related to this new EV sales program, which Ford dealers were given the chance to either opt in or out of. Facing a number of legal challenges and trust issues pertaining to its implementation, the automaker has made some changes to the Model e Certified program based on dealer feedback, which satisfied some of those concerns, though others remain. Following these changes, some Ford dealers chose to opt out of the program after initially opting in. Now, the automaker has revealed that around half of all Ford dealers have chosen to forego the EV sales program altogether, at least for 2024, according to the Detroit Free Press.

According to FoMoCo, around 1,550 Ford dealers in the U.S. – around half – have chosen to opt out of the EV sales program in the coming year, compared to the 1,920 dealers that opted in roughly one year ago. Since then, a number of dealers have decided to opt out, just as The Blue Oval itself is dialing back planned EV investments and the production of select models as sales continue to grow, just not as rapidly as the automaker expected them to initially.

“EV adoption rates vary across the country and we believe our dealers know their market best,” said Ford spokesman Marty Gunsberg. “As Ford dealers have completed their own local market assessments, enrollments for 2024 are just over 50 percent of the network, placing 86 percent of the population within 20 miles of a Ford dealership that can sell and service a Ford EV.”

Dealers that have opted in to sell EVs in 2024 will soon have signs noting whether they’re a Model e Certified or Model e Certified Elite location, making it a bit easier to find a dealership that EV owners can charge up at. Meanwhile, dealers that have chosen not to participate in either of the two tiers will have another chance to do so when the next enrollment period opens up in 2027.

We’ll have more on the Ford Model e Certified program soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

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.