Starting July 1st, Ford will expand EV sales and service to all 2,800 US dealerships, replacing the 2022 Model E dealership program. Approximately 1,400 dealerships had previously enrolled in the old program, which mandated investments of up to $1.2 million for certification, including on-site EV chargers, upgrades, and advanced staff training.
This move follows rumors from dealership meetings last month, where it was suggested that Ford might relax its EV certification requirements. Ford faced accusations of violating state franchise laws and experienced reduced leverage as sales of popular EVs like Teslas slowed, despite the rise in Ford’s own EV and hybrid sales.
The original program had two-thirds of Ford dealerships signing up for an EV “Certified” tag, which included a premium “Elite” tier and a standard tier requiring up to $500,000 in investments. The standard tier allowed for about 25 EV allocations per year, while the Elite tier offered significantly more.
