"We're betting on dealers. We're not going to go direct." - Jim Farley on EV dealers

[Letagoavs710]

Ford dealers must set no-haggle prices, invest up to $1.2 million to keep selling EVs | Automotive News (autonews.com)

Hmm, I don’t believe it. Mike Levine is constantly telling the world on Twitter how much better than Tesla they are. Why would they aim to compete with a company so beneath them?

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[broncoj11]

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/14/for...s-dealers-as-it-chases-tesla-like-profit.html

“We’re betting on the dealers. We’re not going to go direct. But we need to specialize,” CEO Jim Farley told reporters Tuesday after briefing dealers about the plans. “The main message I have for the dealers, which I’ve never said before, because I didn’t believe it was true, is that you could be the most valuable franchise in our industry.”

Sorry, it's not looking like price gouging is going to end anytime soon.

There is some rhetoric about non-negotiable pricing, but doubt that's what we were hoping for.

Fuck.

 

[Letagoavs710]

No one is forced to buy a ford, do people forget that? This isn't a big deal deal. If you don't like the price spend your money elsewhere

Lol there’s always that one Ford fan on here that absolves them from all blame and criticism and blames customers because, “you’re not forced to buy their car.”

 

[Bronco cat]

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/14/for...s-dealers-as-it-chases-tesla-like-profit.html

“We’re betting on the dealers. We’re not going to go direct. But we need to specialize,” CEO Jim Farley told reporters Tuesday after briefing dealers about the plans. “The main message I have for the dealers, which I’ve never said before, because I didn’t believe it was true, is that you could be the most valuable franchise in our industry.”

Sorry, it's not looking like price gouging is going to end anytime soon.

There is some rhetoric about non-negotiable pricing, but doubt that's what we were hoping for.

Let’s be honest here you would have even less leverage if you were buying it directly from ford. Look how wacky Tesla pricing is. And then look at what ford did with the lightning. They raised the price $8500 bucks because they saw what the market was paying. Direct pricing isn’t going to do anything to alleviate adm. I also want to point out that when the shoe is on the other foot most of you on here would be taking advantage of that.

 

[Lifeliberty]

Lol there’s always that one Ford fan on here that absolves them from all blame and criticism and blames customers because, “you’re not forced to buy their car.”

I'm not a Ford fan, I'm a smart shopper, an informed one. Last 2 cars were Honda, i LOVED them.

I'm saying, don't tie yourself to a brand.
If i didn't get a bronco i was looking at 4 runners

YOU have the power, it's your money, vote with your wallet. I just think people forget that

There's other dealers that have been straight also, If i didn't go to klaben, i probably would have gone to Stephens in WVa, there's another out west i forget the name, and another in Md. I understand wanting to buy local, but sometimes you are just adding to the problem by supporting a structure you don't believe in

 

[vrtical]

Hmm, I don’t believe it. Mike Levine is constantly telling the world on Twitter how much better than Tesla they are. Why would they aim to compete with a company so beneath them?

going out on a limb, Telsa US EV market share is pretty high. its not from a global standpoint though.

 

[JimmyG]

I'm not a Ford fan, I'm a smart shopper, an informed one. Last 2 cars were Honda, i LOVED them.

I'm saying, don't tie yourself to a brand.
If i didn't get a bronco i was looking at 4 runners

Tuck Fesla

 

[Sherminiator]

No one is forced to buy a ford, do people forget that? This isn't a big deal deal. If you don't like the price spend your money elsewhere

Klaben Ford in Warren and Kent advertise MSRP pricing, nothing above it. Just shop smarter. Stop giving your money to people who don't respect you. Away this point, it's the customers fault, not Ford's

Given the current environment with supply shortages and almost all dealerships (at least when I was looking last year) have ADMs of at least 2.5 to 10K on products, that is a lot easier said then done. I have about 4-6 Ford dealerships within a 30 minute ride and they where all the same with pricing and markups on them.

Once we go to a new normal, you might be able to get MRSP off the lot without a special order, but maybe not. I know Ford wants people to order vehicles directly-people get what they want and there is no incentives or as many on them. No more 10K discounts on a higher end F-150 to make it move, when a mid range model will suffice for the buyer. The process needs work, but once its common, it shouldn't be that painful, outside of people needing a car right away.

I have no issue ordering a car (I've done it for all my cars I've bought) but the surprise ADM that many people have run into has left a really bad taste in peoples mouths.

 

[Letagoavs710]

going out on a limb, Telsa US EV market share is pretty high. its not from a global standpoint though.

I know, I was just making fun of Mike Levine.

 

[Letagoavs710]

I'm not a Ford fan, I'm a smart shopper, an informed one. Last 2 cars were Honda, i LOVED them.

I'm saying, don't tie yourself to a brand.
If i didn't get a bronco i was looking at 4 runners

YOU have the power, it's your money, vote with your wallet. I just think peple forget that

Alright, we’ll your post read like someone who is defending them. I own a Jeep, my wife has a Chevy. Before that I had a Dodge, Chevy, Chevy, Toyota and a Scion. My wife had a Honda before her Chevy.

Brand loyalty to the point of ignorance is the single most hilarious thing I see people do. I blame Ford plenty and will be just fine walking away after 2023 if they don’t build out 2+ year old reservation.

 

[flip]

Hmm, I don’t believe it. Mike Levine is constantly telling the world on Twitter how much better than Tesla they are. Why would they aim to compete with a company so beneath them?

I don't know but they've been obsessed with Tesla for many years now. Lincoln was obsessing over Lexus about the same time period so it must be a Ford thing. Tesla has a pretty solid driveline but the quality of the rest of the vehicle is no better than average. Ford can't point fingers because they have a huge quality problem themselves right now. From what I can put together, Ford sees Tesla as the EV "standard" but can easily be overtaken with Ford's mass production capabilities. So in Ford's mind, the first legit competitor to the EV market is going to get the lions share of the EV business. You keep hearing leadership say, "we need to win this race", meaning be first to capture the potential EV business out there that isn't sold on Tesla.

For the most part Mache E quality has been very good. Yes, they've had issues with software, delays and other thing but the vehicle itself is well made. One area Ford really sees a key to the EV market is the dealer infrastructure. Tesla does not have this and I truly believe is the one big thing that hurts them. With all of the other manufacturers coming on line soon Tesla could be choked out of the broader market and become more of a niche brand. They will have to really innovate in order to compete with everyone else which is something Musk is really, really good at.

 

[Letagoavs710]

I don't know but they've been obsessed with Tesla for many years now. Lincoln was obsessing over Lexus about the same time period so it must be a Ford thing. Tesla has a pretty solid driveline but the quality of the rest of the vehicle is no better than average. Ford can't point fingers because they have a huge quality problem themselves right now. From what I can put together, Ford sees Tesla as the EV "standard" but can easily be overtaken with Ford's mass production capabilities. So in Ford's mind, the first legit competitor to the EV market is going to get the lions share of the EV business. You keep hearing leadership say, "we need to win this race", meaning be first to capture the potential EV business out there that isn't sold on Tesla.

For the most part Mache E quality has been very good. Yes, they've had issues with software, delays and other thing but the vehicle itself is well made. One area Ford really sees a key to the EV market is the dealer infrastructure. Tesla does not have this and I truly believe is the one big thing that hurts them. With all of the other manufacturers coming on line soon Tesla could be choked out of the broader market and become more of a niche brand. They will have to really innovate in order to compete with everyone else which is something Musk is really, really good at.

Oh I 100% agree with this take, you’re dead on. I was just taking the time to poke fun at Mike Levine. Since he trolls Tesla on Twitter non stop and it comes off petty and unprofessional. Kinda like how Samsung is obsessed with Apple on Twitter and in ads.

 

[MNBigfoot]

No one is forced to buy a ford, do people forget that? This isn't a big deal deal. If you don't like the price spend your money elsewhere

Klaben Ford in Warren and Kent advertise MSRP pricing, nothing above it. Just shop smarter. Stop giving your money to people who don't respect you. Away this point, it's the customers fault, not Ford's

Problem with the reservation system was being locked into shitty dealers, and then the people who "shopped smarter", got punished for doing so. That's Ford's fault.

 

[Lifeliberty]

Problem with the reservation system was being locked into shitty dealers, and then the people who "shopped smarter", got punished for doing so. That's Ford's fault.

Yeah, that reservation system was a nightmare. I had 3 different reservations at one point while settling on dealers, and had transferred 2 of them at one point. I didn't want to get stuck.
Surprise adm is shameful

 

[Sherminiator]

I don't know but they've been obsessed with Tesla for many years now. Lincoln was obsessing over Lexus about the same time period so it must be a Ford thing. Tesla has a pretty solid driveline but the quality of the rest of the vehicle is no better than average. Ford can't point fingers because they have a huge quality problem themselves right now. From what I can put together, Ford sees Tesla as the EV "standard" but can easily be overtaken with Ford's mass production capabilities. So in Ford's mind, the first legit competitor to the EV market is going to get the lions share of the EV business. You keep hearing leadership say, "we need to win this race", meaning be first to capture the potential EV business out there that isn't sold on Tesla.

For the most part Mache E quality has been very good. Yes, they've had issues with software, delays and other thing but the vehicle itself is well made. One area Ford really sees a key to the EV market is the dealer infrastructure. Tesla does not have this and I truly believe is the one big thing that hurts them. With all of the other manufacturers coming on line soon Tesla could be choked out of the broader market and become more of a niche brand. They will have to really innovate in order to compete with everyone else which is something Musk is really, really good at.

The thing is that Tesla IS the EV builder and is very successful at it-I know lots of people (myself included) thought they weren't going to be able to "cross the T" before going bankrupt, but seems like they've done that and rapidly expanding their production facilities to meet demand and making lots of money doing so.

Telsa is making headway in the entry level luxury price area ($40-50K range) vs BMW and Mercedes.

That is not to say they don't have their issues, but at the moment they keep gobbling up market share and Ford wants to keep or expand theirs too. Ford has a lot of legacy issues it needs to deal with and I'm betting that Ford Blue (ICE) gets winded down by 2035 because of this change over.

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