Demand for the F-150 Lightning all-electric pickup truck has proven to be through the roof, with Ford even announcing they would be ramping up production just to keep up.
As a result of this though, some Ford dealerships feel they can impose additional conditions to the Lightning’s ordering process to profit off that demand. However, according to a new report, it seems Ford has taken notice of the situation and will now be taking action.
The report comes from the F-150 Gen 14 Forum, where a member shared a bulletin from Ford corporate addressed to all Ford dealerships. According to the bulletin, the automaker is aware of some dealerships’ tactics to apply additional conditions to the F-150 Lightning ordering process even after customers have secured their reservation, and they’re not happy with it.
Read More: The Ford F-150 Lightning Will Be Able To Charge Other Electric Vehicles
Examples of this were listed in the bulletin as “demanding that customers who are already on the reservation list for the 22 MY F-150 Lightning make additional deposits or payments,” which was deemed by Ford to be “threatening customers by withholding their opportunity to convert reservations to orders.”
It has come to our attention that a limited number of dealerships are interacting with customers in a manner that is negatively impacting customer satisfaction and damaging to the Ford Motor Company brand and Dealer Body reputation.
Examples of these negative interactions include demanding that customers who are already on the reservation list for the 22 MY F-150 Lightning make additional deposits or payments. These actions are perceived as threatening customers by withholding their opportunity to convert reservations to orders.
This behavior is not allowable under Paragraph 6 of the Sales and Service Agreement. Paragraph 6(6) states that The Dealer shall conduct DEALERSHIP OPERATIONS in a manner that will reflect favorably at all times on the reputation of the Dealer, other Company authorized dealers, the Company, COMPANY PRODUCTS and trademarks and trade names used or claimed by the Company or any of its subsidiaries. The Dealer shall avoid in every way any “bait”, deceptive, misleading confusing, or illegal advertising or business practices.
And from the looks of it, the punishment for a dealership caught doing something like that will be quite severe, with the bulletin stating that Ford would reserve the right to redirect that dealership’s entire F-150 Lightning allocation for the full 2022 model year.
If it is determined that your dealership is engaging in such practices, Ford Motor Company reserves the right to redirect that dealerships allocation of the F-150 Lightning for the entirety of the 2022 MY.
See Also: Ford Opens 2022 F-150 Lightning Configurator, We Topped Out At $96,000
Additionally, similar to what they did to prevent speculators from buying Ford GTs just to flip them, the bulletin mentions that the Blue Oval will be implementing a no-sale provision with the Lightning for dealers to have customers sign when they purchase their truck. They provided a sample of such a provision that dealerships could use, which reads as follows:
No-Sale Provision
In order to prevent the re-sale of 22MY F150 Lightning, Ford is offering support for a No-Sale Provision to be signed by the customer at the time of purchase. Dealers may add this language to existing closing forms or create a new standalone document:
Purchaser hereby agrees that it will not sell, offer to sell, or otherwise transfer any ownership interest in the Vehicle prior to the first anniversary of the date hereof. Purchaser further agrees that Seller may seek injunctive relief to prevent the transfer of title of the Vehicle or demand payment from Purchaser of all value received as consideration for the sale or transfer.
Dealers should consult with their legal counsel to address any state-specific requirements questions. For questions, contact your Regional Manager.
Essentially, it appears that once you’ve bought your F-150 Lightning, you’re not allowed to sell it for at least a year, and if you do, you can have legal/financial penalties imposed against you. We’re interested to see how this all ends up panning out for Ford.
H/T to Jalopnik!
