Ford will pay dealers to get rid of the electric F-150

While Tesla sells all the Cybertrucks it can manufacture (in fact, it can’t keep up), Ford is having a slightly worse time placing the Ford F-150 Lightning. For this reason, the blue oval company has taken a desperate measure.

Ford has launched a new incentive for its dealers with the aim of speeding up sales of its electric pick-up, the F-150 Lightning. With this pilot program, the brand will give dealers up to 22,500 dollars (about 20,700 euros at the exchange rate) if they commit to release stock accumulated.

ford will give dealers up to $1,500 for each pick-up that they take out of the Retail Replenishment Centers, up to a maximum of $22,500 (15 pick-ups). These centers are designed to optimize the supply chain, both for vehicles and for spare parts and accessories, ensuring that products are available to dealers and retail distributors in a more optimized way.

These types of centers act as intermediate points that receive, store and distribute vehicles. This allows dealers’ inventory to be quickly replenished, ensuring that cars (or their spare parts) are available in a timely manner for customers, reducing waiting times and logistics costs. Something vital in a country as large as the United States. Through this strategy, Jim FarleyCEO of Ford, assured last May that customers would receive their car in less than ten days from the time of purchase.

Stock is beginning to accumulate and, to regulate inventory and production, Ford wants to prioritize releasing stock before placing orders at the factory. According to CarsDirectthe company will compensate dealers with $1,000 for each F-150 Lightning they purchase at these centers. Dealers who purchase between 9 and 15 units will have an incentive of $1,500 per unit.

This initiative could have varying effects on customers, as some dealers may choose to offer lower prices to speed up inventory turnover, while others may maintain high prices on less common versions.

It is not the only measure to try to sell more electric vehicles

In any case, Ford’s strategy aims to get rid of the 2024 F-150 Lightning before the 2025 update arrives. And in that sense, the company has implemented several aggressive trade policies.

For example, Ford offers 0% financing for 5 years for the 2024 F-150 Lightning. Additionally, through its “Ford Power Promise” program, electric vehicle customers receive a home charger at no additional cost, installation included at Ford’s expense, and a $2,000 cash incentive .

The starting price of the XLT version is $62,995, with a range of 386 kilometers. This version is eligible for $7,500 federal incentive for the purchase of electric vehicles. The top of the range, the F-150 Lightning Black Platinum, costs $92,995 and has 482 kilometers of range (131 kWh battery).

Only 3% of F Series are electric

In 2023, in the United States alone, Ford sold 750,789 units of the F Series. Once again, it was the best-selling vehicle in the North American country. The Ford pick-up surpassed the second best-selling, the Chevrolet Silverado, by more than 200,000 units, and the Ram pick-up by more than 300,000 units. It is a resounding success; However, only 3% of sales correspond to the electric version (24,165 units).

For its part, the Tesla Cybertruck It has been several months this year best selling vehicle from the United States among those that cost more than $100,000. And that the company he runs Elon Musk It has not yet scaled production to high-volume numbers nor does it yet market the cheaper versions.