Ford has decided to stop an expensive program that encouraged business owners to pay more than $1 million to sell electric vehicles.

The scheme has sparked controversy as dealers have taken the company to court. 

US Dealers Had to Invest as Much as $1.2 Million

High demand, limited supply, and widespread anticipation for all-electric cars and trucks led Ford CEO Jim Farley to launch the "EV-certified" program in September 2022, as reported by Automotive News.

However, the result is not what the company hoped for since the increase in EV sales generally is not happening at the expected pace. Therefore, car companies have put off or even scrapped plans for more electric cars and related expenditures.

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Ford Cancels Expensive Dealership Program

According to CNBC, Ford's EV business COO Marin Gjaja admitted during a press conference on Thursday, June 13, that EV growth had stalled.

He said Ford is ending the "Model e Dealership Program," due to changing market circumstances and discussions with dealers. The scheme reportedly covered around half of its 2,800 dealers in the United States, who sued the corporation because of it.

Ford will now make EV sales available to all of its dealers.

While dealers will still need to put money into EV charging infrastructure, training for staff members, and other associated costs, it will not be nearly as much as the $500,000 to $1.2 million compared to the previous scheme.

Gjaja said those numbers were high. He said the average investment for dealers who took part in the whole scheme was over $600,000 only.

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