4 ms·

My interpretation is informed by the knowledge that what he’s saying is not legal in most of the United States. It’s understood that dealers cut into Ford’s pro

by medler 4y ago

My interpretation is informed by the knowledge that what he’s saying is not legal in most of the United States. It’s understood that dealers cut into Ford’s profit margin, but Ford is not at liberty to change the laws in numerous states.

gpm 4y ago
Ford is however at the liberty to lobby for laws to change, and to simply stop selling (electric) vehicles where the laws don't allow for direct sales - like Tesla did. Tesla has pretty convincingly demonstrated that it's possible to run a car company in the US without paying off the dealerships. It's only going to be easier for the second mover here to also stop.
- colinmhayes 4y ago
  Tesla had a big advantage because they never had dealers. Many states have laws banning online sales once dealerships are established.
  - bin_bash 4y ago
    I wonder if maybe they're preparing to fully spin off the EV models into its own corporation for this exact reason: https://chargedevs.com/newswire/ford-to-spin-off-its-evs-into-separate-model-e-business-unit/ https://chargedevs.com/newswire/ford-to-spin-off-its-evs-int...
    - bredren 4y ago
      Does the law apply to a business unit? I’d expect it to require a new company.
      - bin_bash 4y ago
        It would. I'm saying they might have split the company into separate units in order to make it easier to spin off a new corporation.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
signatoremo 4y ago
I’m not familiar with laws pertaining to the dealership. Why can’t Ford sell EVs the same way Tesla do? In the same states. They still sell ICEs via the dealers after all. Nothing changes
- bombcar 4y ago
  I’ve not seen the actual text of such a law, but I suspect the lawyers have and are working on how to get around them (or force a net neutrality swell of support to remove them, perhaps at a federal level utilizing the commerce clause).

4 ms·

My interpretation is informed by the knowledge that what he’s saying is not legal in most of the United States. It’s understood that dealers cut into Ford’s pro

by medler 4y ago

gpm 4y ago
Ford is however at the liberty to lobby for laws to change, and to simply stop selling (electric) vehicles where the laws don't allow for direct sales - like Tesla did. Tesla has pretty convincingly demonstrated that it's possible to run a car company in the US without paying off the dealerships. It's only going to be easier for the second mover here to also stop.
- colinmhayes 4y ago
  Tesla had a big advantage because they never had dealers. Many states have laws banning online sales once dealerships are established.
  - bin_bash 4y ago
    I wonder if maybe they're preparing to fully spin off the EV models into its own corporation for this exact reason: https://chargedevs.com/newswire/ford-to-spin-off-its-evs-into-separate-model-e-business-unit/ https://chargedevs.com/newswire/ford-to-spin-off-its-evs-int...
    - bredren 4y ago
      Does the law apply to a business unit? I’d expect it to require a new company.
      - bin_bash 4y ago
        It would. I'm saying they might have split the company into separate units in order to make it easier to spin off a new corporation.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
signatoremo 4y ago
I’m not familiar with laws pertaining to the dealership. Why can’t Ford sell EVs the same way Tesla do? In the same states. They still sell ICEs via the dealers after all. Nothing changes
- bombcar 4y ago
  I’ve not seen the actual text of such a law, but I suspect the lawyers have and are working on how to get around them (or force a net neutrality swell of support to remove them, perhaps at a federal level utilizing the commerce clause).