beatle
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This article has some interesting comments from Farley on Ford's shift to EVs. Some of it is not new, but some is. I'm not sure all of it will pan out like he says though:
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/31/for...ns-for-automakers-electric-vehicle-shift.html
I wonder if this means existing vehicles will not get the same software updates that the newer vehicles get? In some cases this is good - don't fix what isn't broken - but if manufacturers continue to release half-baked features with the promise that an OTA will come along "soon" to improve the experience to that which was explained at the launch event, it will leave owners with a bait-and-switch taste in their mouth when they see their concerns have been abandoned with the release of a new model that fixes them. I also wonder if people will just get tired of an old design and move to a different brand for something that doesn't look dated. I am not one of those people as new designs typically take a while to grow on me, but I think Farley may be underestimating just how much a facelift can encourage people to buy the latest thing. Maybe I'm taking this too literally though. I think Ford can get away with strategy on the F150 though which has largely remained the same for almost 2 decades yet still remains a cash cow.
I like that Farley is trying to do what he can to improve the buying experience and make it easier and more predictable. I just wonder if dealers will go for it. As a consumer I liked the idea of the Tesla service center. I could schedule a test drive and bend the ear of a knowledgeable employee about the cars, and then I'd bring it by for service at some point. At a dealership I could even buy one that day. Big dealerships, however, have tons of lot space that would simply sit empty under this new sales model, and at least with the Lightning, nobody really knew much of anything about the truck at my dealer other than it was new and exciting. I hope dealerships realize the value in customer education and good service helping to build a relationship, but I have my doubts given my experience buying the Lightning.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/31/for...ns-for-automakers-electric-vehicle-shift.html
“We have an opportunity as we go digital with these EVs, to simplify our body engineering and put the engineering where customers really care,” Farley said last week. ″And it’s not a different fender. It’s software. It’s a digital display technology. It’s a self-driving system and the [autonomous vehicle] tech. And of course it’s going to be, in some cases, more powerful motors.”
I wonder if this means existing vehicles will not get the same software updates that the newer vehicles get? In some cases this is good - don't fix what isn't broken - but if manufacturers continue to release half-baked features with the promise that an OTA will come along "soon" to improve the experience to that which was explained at the launch event, it will leave owners with a bait-and-switch taste in their mouth when they see their concerns have been abandoned with the release of a new model that fixes them. I also wonder if people will just get tired of an old design and move to a different brand for something that doesn't look dated. I am not one of those people as new designs typically take a while to grow on me, but I think Farley may be underestimating just how much a facelift can encourage people to buy the latest thing. Maybe I'm taking this too literally though. I think Ford can get away with strategy on the F150 though which has largely remained the same for almost 2 decades yet still remains a cash cow.
Farley estimates that the low dealer inventories and online ordering will make up roughly $1,200 to $1,300 of that $2,000 per-vehicle cost disadvantage, while ensuring that Ford’s dealers remain profitable. The plan will free dealers from having to carry costly inventories, allowing them — in theory, at least — to focus more on service and customer education. That could give Ford an edge that EV makers selling direct won’t be able to easily match.
“I think that’s a different play than the pure EV companies,” Farley said.
I like that Farley is trying to do what he can to improve the buying experience and make it easier and more predictable. I just wonder if dealers will go for it. As a consumer I liked the idea of the Tesla service center. I could schedule a test drive and bend the ear of a knowledgeable employee about the cars, and then I'd bring it by for service at some point. At a dealership I could even buy one that day. Big dealerships, however, have tons of lot space that would simply sit empty under this new sales model, and at least with the Lightning, nobody really knew much of anything about the truck at my dealer other than it was new and exciting. I hope dealerships realize the value in customer education and good service helping to build a relationship, but I have my doubts given my experience buying the Lightning.
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