Ford Dealers Get More Time To Decide If They Want To Switch To EVs

As the automotive industry keeps pushing to make the switch to electric vehicles, dealerships are facing new challenges. To support the sale and maintenance of EVs requires new infrastructure for these dealers, and many automakers are giving their resellers a choice: either make the switch to electric vehicles or lose out on selling the brand.Lincoln is one of those, but its parent company, Ford, is a little easier to work with. While Lincoln appears to befocusing on producing electric vehiclesin the future, Ford willstick with some gas offerings.

Moreover, Ford is giving its dealers more time to decide on whether they want toinvest in an electric future, moving its original deadline from October 31 to December 2.

Dealers that wish to sell Ford EVs like theF-150 Lightningwill surely value that additional time, as the decision is a big one. Two tiers of certification will be rolled out by Ford: Model e Certified Elite and Model e Certified. The Elite business model requires dealers to make an initial investment of $900,000, most of which would be spent on the installation of two DC fast chargers, one of which must be "public-facing" (clearly visible to customers). By 2026, a third fast charger must be installed, requiring another $300,000 of expenditure. The benefit to these Elite dealers is that they will receive demo vehicles and carry limited stock.