Ford dealers have faced quite a bit of adversity over the past few years, much of it driven by the controversial Model e Certified program, which is now required for entities that wish to sell EVs. In fact, Ford continues to modify that program based on dealer feedback, most recently pushing back EV charger installation requirements due to supply issues. As for Lincoln, it has delayed its entire EV sales program indefinitely as it aims to focus on driving sales and profit in 2024, too. However, with Ford CEO Jim Farley recently on a Ford dealer tour in which he’s seeking “open and honest” feedback, it seems as if that wasn’t the case at the recent NADA Show, according to Automotive News.
After Farley’s comments on Friday – coupled with an acknowledgment from Elena Ford – FoMoCo’s chief dealer engagement officer – regarding the fact that the company is well aware that its dealer network isn’t happy, Saturday apparently conjured up some controversy when executives reportedly didn’t quite follow those words up with action.
According to some Ford dealers in attendance, those executives – minus Farley – didn’t provide much information on topics like how the company plans to improve quality or its future EV plans, and also failed to take questions from those same individuals, which is something that it typically does. Those same executives did offer to stay after the meeting and speak with dealers individually, but that didn’t apparently settle well with some. “It’s very disappointing when you have a town hall setting and you don’t get to have your voice heard,” one dealer said.
What’s particularly interesting about this omission is that it seems as if the Ford dealers in attendance were prepared to have their voices heard as a collectible group. “We’re going to have a dealer panel at the make meeting, and there’s going to be more Q&A from the dealer body,” David Wilson, chairman of the Ford National Dealer Council, said prior to the NADA Show. “We’re going to have more of a two-way conversation.”
We’ll have more on this tension between Ford dealers and the automaker soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
Comments
It seems Ford continues to be tone deaf to both its customers and dealers.
Management is at its worst when it can’t even have a conversation.
The dysfunction at Ford Motor is only rivaled by our gov’t branches.
Dealers can make or break a brand. It doesn’t make sense to ignore the dealers.
As a customer I have seen how dealers can treat customers and the limits Ford has in dealing with these Dealers. The checks and balances between Ford and the Dealers is not slanted towards Ford. The Dealers cry wolf too much and yield great power granted by both State and Federal laws. The customer is usually caught in the middle, not the Dealers.
Apparently you don’t own a business
Nobody respects the customer who pays for all of the lies of the dealers and ford 40 year customer very disappointed in ford
I couldn’t care less about these greedy dealers not being heard by Ford. These same dealers who gouged the customer when the supply chain issue was in there favor. And you don’t need to own a business to understand greedy people!!
Get rid of the dealers already its 2024, we don’t want nor need a greedy lying middleman any longer. Glad Ford is telling them to go pound sand!
I’m so dissapointed in ford with them raising their prices thru the roof. I cant even afford an f150 xlt like the one I had in 2019. Covid was no fun for anyone but ford is definitely sticking it to their customers in an attempt to recapture any loss the company had. So disappointing.