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Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

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Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#31

Post by [deleted] »

phinnaeus wrote: post #21
datalopers wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you’re drastically underestimating how immensely popular the Ford F-150 is. Every single person who wants a truck knows about the F-150 and I’d wager the vast majority who may purchase an EV know about the F-150 Lightning or will find out as they start hitting the streets and they see them in parking lots and at stoplights.

But what percentage of those F-150 owners know there is an EV version? Or put another way, how many of them can you convert to an EV version with effective advertising?

[deleted]

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#32

Post by phinnaeus »

eatonphil wrote: post #26
phinnaeus wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But what percentage of those F-150 owners know there is an EV version? Or put another way, how many of them can you convert to an EV version with effective advertising?

At some point the f150 may be only electric? So maybe advertising isn't so important if people just want the model regardless of the engine.

That's a great point, but I haven't heard when that is going to happen. Until then, IMHO ads shouldn't be discounted by Ford (this of course assumes that Ford actually wants to convert people from ICE to EV).

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#33

Post by leereeves »

phinnaeus wrote: post #32
eatonphil wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At some point the f150 may be only electric? So maybe advertising isn't so important if people just want the model regardless of the engine.

That's a great point, but I haven't heard when that is going to happen. Until then, IMHO ads shouldn't be discounted by Ford (this of course assumes that Ford actually wants to convert people from ICE to EV).

The Lightning seems to be designed to convert F-150 buyers. It looks just like a regular F-150 and comes with features rural customers would love, like powering your house during blackouts and your tools away from an outlet.

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#34

Post by kcb »

fnordpiglet wrote: post #29
kcb wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Tesla may not be the future of EVs Based on what metric? I have a hard time looking at Tesla's sales, revenue, profit, production capacity growth and not thinking they will continue to be a leader in EVs far into the future.

Does speculation require a metric?

No? I asked a question.

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#35

Post by beached_whale »

datalopers wrote: post #16
phinnaeus wrote: post #2

I'm surprised they see spending less on advertising as part of their EV strategy. Copying Tesla in that regard might not work out the way they want it to. IMO Non-Tesla EVs are already facing an uphill awareness battle.

I think you’re drastically underestimating how immensely popular the Ford F-150 is. Every single person who wants a truck knows about the F-150 and I’d wager the vast majority who may purchase an EV know about the F-150 Lightning or will find out as they start hitting the streets and they see them in parking lots and at stoplights.

Having 220v out the rear to say and looking like a normal truck will help a lot. There are a lot of contractors who buy a lot of trucks and not needing fuel or the trucks or generators(no longer needed0 is a huge win. Plus they check off every single checkbox for a truck, minus the perceieved distance anxiety.

They will sell very well

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#36

Post by tempsy »

kcb wrote: post #27
LeoPanthera wrote: post #11

Tesla may not be the future of EVs, but we have to thank them for dragging everyone else into the present.

> Tesla may not be the future of EVs Based on what metric? I have a hard time looking at Tesla's sales, revenue, profit, production capacity growth and not thinking they will continue to be a leader in EVs far into the future.

people said the same about Netflix vs other streaming competitors

you’re the leader and category creator until one day you’re just another player in a sea of competition

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#37

Post by mesh »

kcb wrote: post #27
LeoPanthera wrote: post #11

Tesla may not be the future of EVs, but we have to thank them for dragging everyone else into the present.

> Tesla may not be the future of EVs Based on what metric? I have a hard time looking at Tesla's sales, revenue, profit, production capacity growth and not thinking they will continue to be a leader in EVs far into the future.

He said "may not", which is the same as saying "may".

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#38

Post by throwaway0a5e »

xen2xen1 wrote: post #7
phinnaeus wrote: post #2

I'm surprised they see spending less on advertising as part of their EV strategy. Copying Tesla in that regard might not work out the way they want it to. IMO Non-Tesla EVs are already facing an uphill awareness battle.

From what I've seen of the coverage, that doesn't quite seem true for the F150. It has decades of name recognition built up and lots of buzz going on for it already. The F150 may be the first real ICE>EV mega crossover thst happens.

The first electric fullsize pickup to market is going to be a f-ing goldmine.

There are a lot of people who commute in a sedan and have a Tacoma or Odyssey that gets driven when needed and would replace both with a fullsize crew cab truck if it weren't for a little voice in the back of their head telling them that such a vehicle does not project an image that is appropriate for the kind of person who lives in a million dollar home with solar on the roof in a neighborhood dotted with black lives matter signs.

An EV variant drops that stigma and will attract a bunch moneyed buyers who previously would never have considered a fullsize truck. That's huge.

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#39

Post by paxys »

A lot has been said about the dealership model in the last few years, and the almost universal consensus is that it is an unnecessary and predatory industry and all auto makers should just sell cars directly like Tesla does.

That being said, is there any counterpoint to this view? Are there any benefits that dealerships offer today over direct sales? What would we lose if we got rid of every dealership? If there is truly little or no advantage, why has this obvious disruption never come up in the last ~100+ years of car sales in this country and all over the world?

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#40

Post by eatonphil »

peter422 wrote: post #30

I recently bought a Prius Prime and the amount of work I had to do to buy it at MSRP was ridiculous. If you have an oversubscribed car the dealer model just doesn’t work. If car companies are going to compete in the future they will have to either eliminate dealers or at least force some type of structure to the sales process, otherwise people will gravitate to the companies that do (like Tesla).

Dumb questions: isn't this just the market at work though? Why is it actually a problem for car makers if the car is sold above MSRP?

Just a worse consumer experience that reflects poorly on the brand? Sony seems to deal with it with sold-out ps5 and resellers gauging.

I mean you're not the only one suggesting this is a problem. Ford clearly seems to have a problem with dealerships and their markup I guess (or I misread the article).

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