The dealership model has fundamentally changed, as Tesla’s online-only sales model has turned a lot of legacy automakers on their heads. Ford, not one to be left out, has decided the way to sell more EVs is through an online-only, fixed price setup.
As reported from multiple outlets, Ford’s CEO Jim Farley was at the Bernstein’s Annual Strategic Decisions Conference, in which he uttered a speech about the future of Ford. He plans to take Ford’s EV sales model entirely online, with 100 percent remote ordering, and delivery, with no inventory contained at the dealership. Each vehicle would be built to order and delivered straight to the customer, with no room for negotiation on price.
Ford dealers would still exist, though. Existing Ford dealers would serve to sell non-electric cars, and be a point of contact for EV drivers, possibly serving as delivery points for EVs. “Not all transactions will take place online,” said Farley.
Road & Track further elaborate on Ford’s EV push, revealing some strategies that may seem counterintuitive. For example, Ford plans on scaling back its EV marketing push, and Jim Farley went on to say “if you see Ford advertising EVs on the Superbowl, sell the stock.”
Will it work? We don’t know. Ford hasn’t specified a time frame or real plan aside from a few remarks at the Anual Strategic Decisions Conference. Right now, Ford only has two pure EVs on sale; the Mustang Mach-E and the Ford F-150 Lightning Selling online would be a great way to avoid any pesky dealer markups.
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