Ford loses nearly 400 participants from its EV dealer program
After asking its dealers to join it “on an epic journey of sustainable expansion,” Ford revealed over two-thirds of its dealers joined almost a year ago. However, close to 400 dealers have dropped out of the program since then.
Ford asked its dealership network to become a part of the automaker’s “revolutionary” EV transformation last year.
In December, CEO Jim Farley revealed that 1,920 dealers joined the program. Of them, 1,659 dealers chose the higher “Certified Elite” tier.
The other 261 went with the “Certified” tier. The lower level requires a $500K initial investment and includes repair and maintenance and one public DC fast charger. For around $1-$1.2 million, dealers can opt for the higher “Elite” tier, which includes an additional fast charger, demo units, rapid replenishment, and a presence on Ford.com.
An Automotive News report last week revealed Ford would ease EV dealer requirements following “changes in the market.” The program has been met with its fair share of criticism. Last week, Illinois’ state motor vehicle board handed Ford dealers a victory after about 26 of them argued the company’s EV program violated state laws.
The changes include fewer L2 chargers and an extended installation deadline. Dealer training will also be cut in half to around $20K.
Ford loses participants from its EV dealer program
A spokesperson from the company told Electrek last week that the changes “relate to changes in the market, not a result of the Illinois outcome.”
Ford said it would appeal the decision. “Ford stands by its voluntary Model e program,” a spokesperson explained. “The program is designed to ensure that Ford and its dealers” provide EV customers with a class-leading experience.
The news comes after Ford said it would ease restrictions in January, including allowing dealers to change tiers or opt-out.
According to the AN report, nearly 400 dealers have dropped out of Ford’s EV sales program since December.
To keep up with Tesla and other direct-to-consumer rivals, Ford will create “retail replenishment centers” where Certified Elite dealers can replenish stock. Ford said the changes will help cut costs and are “designed to improve the speed and efficiency in which dealers and, therefore, customers can receive their EVs.”
According to a company spokesperson, elite dealers will hold “limited” stock for customer test drives.
Ford said Monday that enrollment in its EV dealer program has fallen to around 1,550, or about 53% of its network.
Electrek’s Take
Farley said rivals like Tesla have a $2K advantage due to their DTC sales model. He insisted the company needs to lower costs to compete.
Rather than cutting out the middle man, Ford executive chairman Bill Ford said the company was “betting on the dealers,” explaining, “We’re not going direct.”
However, Ford said, “But we need to specialize.” The EV dealer program was designed to do that. But with backlash from dealers, Ford is easing requirements.
The move comes after Ford announced several major delays to its EV plans. Ford is pushing back around $12 billion in EV spending altogether.
It also cut one of three shifts at its EV plant in Michigan, where the F-150 Lightning is built. CFO John Lawler added the company has “taken out some Mustang Mach-E production” last month. He explained, “We are also slowing down several investments, including making a decision with SK On to delay the second BlueOval SK JV battery plant in Kentucky.”
Meanwhile, overseas rivals like Hyundai see the US EV market as an opportunity, doubling down on its own plans.
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Tesla has started to offer discounted financing on Cybertruck as the electric pickup truck undoubtedly turns out to be a flop.
Tesla claimed over 1 million reservations for the Cybertruck, and CEO Elon Musk said he could see Tesla producing 500,000 units per year.
However, that was before Tesla announced that the production version would be much more expensive and have a shorter range than what was initially announced.
The Cybertruck has now been in production for a year and a half, and it looks like Tesla would be lucky to sell about 10% of Musk’s goal of 500,000 units.
The automaker doesn’t report Cybertruck sales, but it is estimated that Tesla delivered roughly 40,000 Cybertrucks in 2024, and it is expected to have even more issues selling the truck this year.
Tesla has taken several steps to help sales.
We reported that Tesla launched Cybertruck leases to help move vehicles. The company is even still tucked with “Foundations Series” Cybertrucks, and we found out that Tesla buffed “Foundations Series” badges out of some trucks to sell them as cheaper regular Cybertrucks.
For the remaining “Foundations Series,” which there still are despite Tesla switching to regular Cybertruck production in October, Tesla has even offered free Supercharging for life.
Now, Tesla is stepping up its game, and it is offering discounted financing on new Cybertruck orders:
Tesla announced 1.99% APR for a limited time:
1.99% APR available for a limited time for well-qualified buyers
WIthout the “promotion”, the rate for excellent credit is 5.84%.
While Tesla is discounting the rates, it is not discounting them as much as for new Model 3 orders.
We reported earlier this week that Tesla offers 0% and 0.99% with $0 down on new Model 3 orders in the US until the end of the quarter.
Electrek’s Take
It is very possible that Tesla can’t sell more than 10,000 Cybertrucks this quarter, which would extrapolate to 40,000 units per year or less than 10% of what Elon said he would see Tesla delivering.
Now, the cheaper single motor Cybertruck should help, but by how much? It could bring Tesla to 20-30% of the volume Elon saw possible?
I think it’s fairly clear that the Cybertruck is a flop.
Tesla launched a single new vehicle in the last 5 years and it is a flop.
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Environment
Toyota launched its cheapest EV in China and it crashed the server starting at just $15,000
Toyota looks to grab a bigger share of the world’s largest EV market as it takes aim at BYD and other low-cost leaders. On Thursday, Toyota launched its cheapest EV in China, the bZ3X, starting at roughly $15,000. The new electric SUV crashed the server with over 10,000 orders in an hour.
Meet Toyota’s cheapest EV in China, the bZ3X
The bz3X is Toyota’s “first 100,000 yuan-level pure electric SUV” in China and its cheapest EV to hit the market so far.
Toyota’s Chinese joint venture, GAC-Toyota officially launched the “Bozhi 3X,” or bZ3X for short, in China on March 6. Shortly after, the company said orders for its new electric SUV were “so popular that the server crashed” after revealing prices start at just over $15,000 (109,800 yuan).
After securing over 10,000 orders in just one hour, Toyota boasted again that “the server is overwhelmed.” The launch comes after blind pre-orders opened in December, starting at just under $14,000 (100,000 yuan).
The bZ3X is available in two versions, with or without its full-scenario smart driving tech. The non-smart tech model starts at 109,800 yuan ($15,000) with five trim options while the smart driving model starts at 149,800 yuan ($20,500).
For 159,800 yuan ($22,000), the range-topping “610 Max” trim provides up to 610 km (379 miles) CLTC range from a 67.92 kWh LFP battery. The base “430 Air” gets up to 430 km (267 miles) from a 50.03 kWh LFP battery pack.
Toyota said the interior provides “a mobile space that is comfortable as home,” with front and rear seats that can fold down to provide nearly 10 feet (3 meters) of space.
Inside, the electric SUV has a 14.6″ infotainment screen with voice recognition and an 8.8″ driver display. It also includes a two-spoke multi-function steering wheel.
Toyota’s new bZ3X is its first vehicle with the Momenta 5.0 Intelligent Driving System. Powered by NVIDIA Drive AGX Orin X, it comes with 25 ADAS features, such as parallel parking, remote control parking, high-speed pilot, light traffic assist, and blind spot monitoring.
GAC-Toyota claimed it will be “one of the first automakers in the world to realize a one-stage end-to-end intelligent driving model.” With human-like intelligence, the vehicle “gets smarter and better with use.”
At 4,600 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, and 1,645 mm tall, Toyota’s cheapest EV in China is about the size of BYD’s Yuan Plus (Atto 3) at 4,455 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, and 1,615 mm tall. Starting at 115,800 yuan ($16,000), Toyota’s new bZ3X slightly undercuts BYD’s electric SUV.
What do you think of Toyota’s new electric SUV? Would you buy one for around $15,000? We’ll keep dreaming.
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