[dbsb3233]

Ford preps dealers for its first-ever battery-electric Mustang SUV

The automaker is training salespeople and repair technicians for the Mustang Mach-E

www.detroitnews.com

 

[machstang]

Interesting statement here:

"Ford officials also are training technicians in the dealerships’ shops on how to work with battery-powered vehicles and how to charge them. The automaker won't say how much dealerships must invest to become EV Certified by Ford, but one dealer said the cost would be made up by selling a few Mach-Es."

Does anyone know how much Ford/Ford Dealers are making on the sale of each Mach-E?

 

[dbsb3233]

That sentence raised my eyebrow when I first read it too. There's no way the costs of the extra equipment and charging stations for a dealership will be made up by selling "a few" Mach-e's. Unless Ford is paying for most of those costs.

 

[ReturnOfTheMack]

I would like to think it's Ford putting its money where its mouth is and covering some of the costs, but with companies like this you never know what's up their sleeves.

 

[eastern refugee]

Ford Dealers already have charging stations for the energy vehicles. Nothing changes except when charging it likely will not be the DC fast charging but the slow stuff.

 

[dbsb3233]

Ford Dealers already have charging stations for the energy vehicles. Nothing changes except when charging it likely will not be the DC fast charging but the slow stuff.

Chargers are only part of it though. It's also new equipment that can handle dropping down the heavy battery pack from underneath, and servicing it. As well as the extra tools, diagnostics, training, etc.

And I would guess they're putting in a DCFC (50kW+) at each dealer too, so they can do testing/confirmation that functionality is working whenever they need to do service on a charging problem. And also just to be able to charge more vehicles faster as they start selling more.

 

[Cowherd.J]

It's not just the Mach-E that Ford will be training its dealers on. There will also be training for the 2020 Transit, two "2021 Ford Vehicles", "2020 Aviator" and "2020/21 Corsair"

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1221862006564761600

 

[silverelan]

Chargers are only part of it though. It's also new equipment that can handle dropping down the heavy battery pack from underneath, and servicing it. As well as the extra tools, diagnostics, training, etc.

And I would guess they're putting in a DCFC (50kW+) at each dealer too, so they can do testing/confirmation that functionality is working whenever they need to do service on a charging problem. And also just to be able to charge more vehicles faster as they start selling more.

A 50kW+ charger at the dealer would be a huge selling point for a bunch of reasons.
1) demonstrate to buyers how to charge it when away from home.
2) alleviate anxiety for range and know-how.
3) if all dealers had 1-2 DC fast charger pedestals, that'd add over 2000 charging locations to the CCS network.

 

[dbsb3233]

A 50kW+ charger at the dealer would be a huge selling point for a bunch of reasons.
1) demonstrate to buyers how to charge it when away from home.
2) alleviate anxiety for range and know-how.
3) if all dealers had 1-2 DC fast charger pedestals, that'd add over 2000 charging locations to the CCS network.

It certainly makes sense for dealers to have a few. However I wasn't talking about making them open to the public. I simply meant for their own purposes.

As they start to sell and service BEVs and PHEVs, they're gonna need to be able to recharge vehicles onsite. And as you said, demo to customers. But they're gonna need to make sure those chargers stay available when they need them. If they allow people off the street to come in and plug-in whenever, that would surely cause them conflicts.

 

[zhackwyatt]

A 50kW+ charger at the dealer would be a huge selling point for a bunch of reasons.
1) demonstrate to buyers how to charge it when away from home.
2) alleviate anxiety for range and know-how.
3) if all dealers had 1-2 DC fast charger pedestals, that'd add over 2000 charging locations to the CCS network.

I agree. The dealer needs some reserved for their purposes, but adding public chargers would greatly expand the network. Plus they could charge (overloaded word, lol) for it, which may compensate them for their revenue loss on BEVs in general. In addition, it would bring people to the dealership to show off shiny new cars.

 

[silverelan]

It certainly makes sense for dealers to have a few. However I wasn't talking about making them open to the public. I simply meant for their own purposes.

As they start to sell and service BEVs and PHEVs, they're gonna need to be able to recharge vehicles onsite. And as you said, demo to customers. But they're gonna need to make sure those chargers stay available when they need them. If they allow people off the street to come in and plug-in whenever, that would surely cause them conflicts.

I think it would be a big selling point for Ford dealers to have public DCFCs. From the initial point of sale when the new owner is assured that they can always come back to charge their car any time to a Bolt EV or Jaguar I-PACE driver who after the fourth time charging at a Ford dealer is like, "eff it, my next EV is from a dealer who cares."

 

[dbsb3233]

I think it would be a big selling point for Ford dealers to have public DCFCs. From the initial point of sale when the new owner is assured that they can always come back to charge their car any time to a Bolt EV or Jaguar I-PACE driver who after the fourth time charging at a Ford dealer is like, "eff it, my next EV is from a dealer who cares."

Wouldn't surprise me if some dealerships allowed customers that just bought a car from them to return and plug in IF the dealership isn't already using the chargers, up to a point. Kinda like how they often let customers return for free car washes. But that's a "for existing customers that just bought a car here" perk. I think it makes little sense for dealers to turn themselves into full retail charging stations for the general public. Maybe a few will, but that would be a rare exception IMO.