Dearborn, Michigan — Ford Motor Co. is planning to set up so-called “Retail Replenishment Centres” aimed at helping its dealers reduce the EV inventory they’re required to carry.
As of earlier this month, Ford’s Model E Program lost 400 dealers since it was first announced in September 2022 and overall EV enrollment has fallen to approximately 1,550 dealers (53 percent of the total North American dealer network).
The Ford “Retail Replenishment Centres” are designed to ensure that EVs don’t pile up on dealer’s car lots and to help reduce costs to dealers as an incentive to participate in the program.
Ford spokesperson Martin Günsberg originally told Inside EVs that for upper-tier Certified Elite dealers, Ford will restore some of their stock from these “Retail Replenishment Centres,” which are designed to speed the delivery of EVs to customers.
Günsberg further added that Certified Elite dealers “will still carry limited ground stock” and have vehicles available for customers to test drive, but that “Ford will manage the centres which are for holding EVs close to dealerships.”
As of this current moment, specific details about the form and logistics of these centres have yet to be released.
However, Ford has announced that it is also cutting back on the number of chargers that dealers are required to install to support EVs as well as a 50 percent cut of the required training costs, among other things meant to support dealers adopting EV incentives.
