No Lightnings at Local Dealership

[MotoGary]

I love the truck. I’m looking for another one after they take my current one. But there are none anywhere because of the amount of money ford is losing and the dealers can’t move them.

If the dealers "can't move them", why are there "none anywhere"?

Reminds me of that famous Yogi Berra-ism "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"

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[Firn]

I’m more talking about having to constantly remove the 12v battery to reset it to get things to work. But yes if they advertise software updates to make your vehicle better over time. Then they should send those updates and not make us hack our trucks with cables and software to match what others with the same vehicle have.

The VAST VAST majority of owners get updates without "hacking" anything. Yes, you may not have it RIGHT NOW, but it does still happen for most.

 

[TaxmanHog]

The dealer in my area and the dealer in a brother's area both actively discouraged people from buying Lightnings and redirect them to ICEs. I think some dealers are sabotaging the Lightning.

And they should lose their franchise !

 

[Kansan]

If the dealers "can't move them", why are there "none anywhere"?

Reminds me of that famous Yogi Berra-ism "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"

It’s the regional pool model that they started using last year. The dealers don’t have to stock the Lightning. My local EV dealer specialist said they only keep 1 or 2 on the lot and plan to draw from the pool any time someone wants to buy one. They also tried to tell me that the Lightning was selling for sticker while other dealers were offering huge discounts - maybe they’re unaware of the internet. Another dealer 60 miles away had my truck in stock with a good discount.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I told my sales rep I was getting a buyback and asked him what they had. He told me yeah a lot of them are having problems. Get a Raptor instead.

I'll definitely believe a dealer sales rep who says, "This $80k truck is way worse than this $115k truck."

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

And they should lose their franchise !

If it were up to me, we could all buy direct from Ford.

 

[El Duderino]

Woodhouse in Omaha moved 30+ Platinums in March alone.

1 isn't a representative sample but either is your one local dealer.

 

[TaxmanHog]

If it were up to me, we could all buy direct from Ford.

They should have opened a Model-E corporate franchise in every state.

 

[RickLightning]

Just got my buyback approved. Looking around and there are none in my city either. This truck was a total bust for them. I’m sure the dealers don’t want them rotting on the lots anymore.

I love the truck. I’m looking for another one after they take my current one. But there are none anywhere because of the amount of money ford is losing and the dealers can’t move them.

Not valid points. The world is bigger than your area.

You're in Vegas. Zip code 89104 has 5 matches within 20 miles, 2 in stock, and 3 enroute. Widen to 50 miles and same number. The reason they're are less where you are is a combination of dealers that choose not to sell or stock them, and customers that don't want them.

If I look within 20 miles of my area, there are 43. If I widen to 50 miles, there are "100+" (doesn't go higher than 100. There are actually 282 within 50 miles.

The dealer in my area and the dealer in a brother's area both actively discouraged people from buying Lightnings and redirect them to ICEs. I think some dealers are sabotaging the Lightning.

Some dealers no longer sell EVs. Some are simply incompetent, or make more money from gas vehicles. We stopped at one in Nevada last year to charge and every word out of the sales manager's mouth was inaccurate or disparaging EVs.

It’s the regional pool model that they started using last year. The dealers don’t have to stock the Lightning. My local EV dealer specialist said they only keep 1 or 2 on the lot and plan to draw from the pool any time someone wants to buy one. They also tried to tell me that the Lightning was selling for sticker while other dealers were offering huge discounts - maybe they’re unaware of the internet. Another dealer 60 miles away had my truck in stock with a good discount.

Regional pool has been terminated. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ford-pulls-plug-stocking-evs-182715069.html

 

[TaxmanHog]

 

[Monkey]

Ford has cutback production to keep this supply smaller. Holds the price up. Less discounted vehicles. My 2 cents...

I'd say they have production right where it needs to be, maybe a bit below ideal. Sales are up, they just had their best quarter ever for EV sales, Lightning included. inventory is low everywhere, many areas have none as the 2025s are making their way there.

 

[jimfigler]

the 5 dealers in my area seem to have about 2 to 4 in stock nowadays.

 

[CD4TNF]

When I went to a Ford dealer, the GM explained the replenishment central distribution model. It gave dealers an inventory to pull from that was specific for what the customer is looking for. The year prior (2022-2023) they're problem statement was they had a dozen or more MachE's sitting for 9 months.


The distribution system made it so dealers weren't guessing on what a future customer would want. The customer could pick from the Ford inventory. This reduced the metric Ford was getting slammed for, which was "days car is sitting on dealer lot". EVs were sitting on Ford's lot, not the dealer's.

Driving by and looking at what's on the dealer parking lot is a poor indicator of supply and demand. Ford was subtle and took that consumer soft negotiation power away and placed it with the dealers by implementing the replenishment center distribution model.


Ultimately this is a sign of the diffusion of technology curve. We are still somewhere in the ramping up phase of a new technology being adopted. The bell curve can only go up from here.

Ford hit a solid mark on the MachE and F150 Lightning. They can always be better. Ford learned and they're going to get better the next round. New cars and EVs that meet different people's needs need to be made.

 

[RickLightning]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ford-pulls-plug-stocking-evs-182715069.html

 

[Calson]

Your local dealer can search all dealers' lots and find the truck you want. You can also check Craigslist were many internet sales people post trucks for sale.

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