Ford walks back EV dealer restrictions to boost sales

The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker unveiled the EV selling rules in late 2022, requiring dealers to spend between $500,000 to about $1 million on expensive charging equipment and other programs. About half of Ford's 2,800 dealers enrolled in the group since it was introduced.

"We want to make these great vehicles more accessible to everyone," Marin Gjaja, chief operating officer for the company’s EV business, said of the change in requirements.

"There is always a learning curve with a new technology and introducing EVs in a simple, hassle-free way helps to remove many of the perceived barriers our dealers and customers are concerned about," he added.

Dealers were required to meet certain training requirements, in addition to installing chargers, to prepare their staff to help educate customers on the complexities of EV ownership.

Ford CEO Jim Farley previously warned dealers they would be held to "brutal" standards to stay competitive and serve customers during the EV transition.

That transition has been bumpier than many auto executives expected. Automakers like Ford have prioritized production of hybrid vehicles as sales growth rate of these models have outpaced pure EVs. U.S. hybrid sales increased 25.3% from 2022 to 2023 for Ford, whereas EV sales rose 17.9% over the same period.

New EV players like Tesla sell directly to consumers without dealerships, giving it a financial advantage over legacy automakers. Farley has noted that Ford spends about $2,000 per vehicle more than Tesla because of its franchise dealer model.

Dealers who did invest hundreds of thousands into the machinery and programs Ford required are feeling burned now that EVs will soon be available to all. Some dealers are having trouble moving EVs off their lots into the hands of customers, and are even refusing shipments of electric models because they are selling them at a loss.