The brand says “certified” dealers will need to invest about $500,000 in the program, while the upper tier, called “certified elite,” requires up to $1.2 million. is spent charging the device.
Dealers in both tiers will no longer have to run public chargers 24 hours a day. Instead, chargers must be available Monday through Saturday from 7am to 8pm. This reflects changes to the Lincoln Certification Program that were also announced at the NADA Show.
Officials said they would remove the annual 25-vehicle sales cap for the “certified” tier, but have not settled on how those dealers will limit EV sales.
Ford National Dealer Council Chairman Tim Hobick said of the change: car news The work reported on Friday is a sign of cooperation between the automaker and its retailers.
“I applaud the company for taking the time to listen,” he said. “We really believe we’ve come to a fair place.”
Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer of Ford Model e, the automaker’s EV division, said he hopes the adjustments will soften those who oppose the program.
A New York dealer filed a lawsuit, and 32 state associations sent letters of concern to the company.
“My hope is that this reduces the amount of concern,” Gjaja said. “One thing we’ve found is that there’s a lot of misinformation out there. We need to keep trying to communicate as best as we can.”