I have always said that if you can't sell your product at the retail outlet, try selling it online. If that still doesn't work try TV advertising to get the buyers all hot to trot.
Ford is going to a 100% fixed price online sales model for EV's
- Thread starter skyactiv
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I really dislike the car dealer process. No matter what I do the first thing they say is "why don't you come down to the dealer so we can hash this out?" I don't want to show up until I can just sign some paperwork and leave. Anything else is a waste of my time. I don't know what's so hard about giving me the price and I show up with a check(my own financing if necessary) once the paperwork is ready to sign? I bought the Tesla while constantly in an out of hotels with work including securing my financing. I went to the bank, signed some paperwork and they gave me the check. I went to Tesla, handed them the check, and then signed something on an iPad and left with my car after inspecting the condition. It has ruined me from ever putting up with the dealer model.
I still may buy the Ford Lightning, but I've only talked to them by email and over the phone. The dealer is less than 2 miles from me. I'm not bothering going in there until a deal is made. It wouldn't be necessary if their pricing structure was reasonable.
This is the Tesla model. The staff is not paid on commission; they are hourly or salaried.
Another take on this is that the dealers have grown weary of financing inventories of Ford EVs that they can't move at any profit making price, so Ford is taking over a line of business the dealers don't want but thinks it must pursue.
In the case of Tesla, to achieve the kind of sales growth Tesla sought would require widespread distribution. Since it was unlikely that a traditional dealer network could be developed quickly enough to get there, Tesla pursued a direct selling model, which also means that there are some states, like Wisconsin, where Tesla can't deliver cars since their model contravenes state franchise law.
Dealers do serve some useful economic functions. They are the retail outlets for the manufacturers and they are also the service centers as well as the inventory sink. These are all costs that any direct-selling manufacturer has to bear directly, and they are not trivial.
In the case of Tesla, to achieve the kind of sales growth Tesla sought would require widespread distribution. Since it was unlikely that a traditional dealer network could be developed quickly enough to get there, Tesla pursued a direct selling model, which also means that there are some states, like Wisconsin, where Tesla can't deliver cars since their model contravenes state franchise law.
Dealers do serve some useful economic functions. They are the retail outlets for the manufacturers and they are also the service centers as well as the inventory sink. These are all costs that any direct-selling manufacturer has to bear directly, and they are not trivial.
Agree and disagree. The direct sales model minimizes (basically removes) inventory carrying costs. But there are still showrooms where customers can touch, test drive and ask questions about the vehicles.
There will still be service centers which are separate from the sales function in traditional dealerships.
The dealership sales model adds cost with little value.
That a really long winded excuse for "they're not selling fast enough"
Or maybe, "There's a better way."
Probably, the good news for me is I wouldn't by a Ford or an EV. That's coming from a Ford fan for many decades.
Yeah cause no negotiation has always worked out perfectly.
For all the pomp and circumstance around it, it’s only helpful to those who mortgage the $$$ to get their next vehicle while still owning $40000 on the last one.
In Utah you can't take delivering of a new Tesla-you must go to Nevada. You can buy used ones directly from Tesla. Consequently-we have (generally) a miserable - limited (as to the number of) new car
dealers network that keeps prices artificially high.
In Connecticut it is illegal for a auto manufacturer to sell directly to the consumer. The dealer's have good lobbyists in Hartford.
The last I saw there are 7 states total that prohibit direct to consumer auto sales.
Think that number will shrink or grow?
I can see it happening either way, with much depending upon who lobbies state legislatures more effectively.
The locals are in a good position when it comes to this, I think.
I have no idea. I don't think there's a push one way or another. The thing that makes it hard for them to care about allowing it is that the taxes on a vehicle purchase are due at the time of registration, which means the state where it's registered gets the tax revenue, even if that state doesn't allow direct to consumer.
In other words I had to drive many hours round trip to get the car and the state of Wisconsin still got their money just as if I bought the car here.
Local dealers are often significant local presences and large dealer groups even more so.
Campaign contributions and attendance at campaign fundraisers are noticed and do matter.
No way that a Tesla gets down to this level of granularity even though they have the financial resources to crush the locals.
That's what I intended to convey.
My guess is shrink. The Internet is changing the world; the rate of change will only increase.
State laws are made by legislators from the communities around each state.
These guys and gals care nada about this internet thing when the local dealers sponsor local kids softball/soccer/football teams and also attend the rubber chicken campaign dinners and pay to do so.
Don't underestimate the power of local businesses to frame policy, especially since these dealerships feed many mouths.
EV sales have plateaued and there may not be enough buyers to absorb the current supply at profitable levels.
Too much too soon?
Young folks don't like the dealership model. They don't like this negotiable price stuff. The sales model for cars will change in time to be the same as buying anything else.