In the wake of the decision to split its EV and gasoline vehicle divisions, Ford has announced that its dealers will need to "opt-in" to selling EVs along with normal combustion cars, according to Automotive News. While the company has no apparent plans to create new dealers or work outside its network of roughly 3,100 existing retail stores, Ford CEO Jim Farley said in an interview that dealers should "get ready to specialize."Ford's strategy will rely on feedback from these very dealers over the coming months, and won't be fully implemented until January 2024, AN reports. Dealers that currently sell the Mustang Mach-E, E-Transit, and are anticipating inventory of the new F-150 Lightning can continue selling them for the next year and a half. In the interview, Farley explained that Ford's goal is to be "much more efficient and a lot more online" while continuing to use the in-person nature of dealers to its advantage. The new dealer agreement isn't finalized yet, but Ford executives have made clear they hope for a no-inventory, direct-order model, as well as non-negotiable pricing and smaller facilities for dealers.
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