The beginning of the end for Ford’s failed EV program. Just wait until year end financials are reported. Ford will need “Biden bucks” to survive.
t wasn’t too terribly long ago – 2022, in fact – that Lincoln was slated to gain four new second-generation all-electric models by 2026, including the Lincoln Aviator EV, which is expected to launch in 2025 and be produced at the Oakville Assembly plant in Canada. However, back in April 2023, new Lincoln CEO Dianne Craig revealed that the luxury brand was no longer following that timeline. Then, a few days later, Lincoln made some changes to its EV sales program – one that largely mimics Ford’s Model e Certified program, which has faced its fair share of controversy and pushback from dealers. Now, following this morning’s revelation that Lincoln plans to cut 100 dealers from its network in 2024, Craig also revealed that the brand’s EV sales program is now on hold, according to Automotive News.
Even though Ford is moving forward with the implementation of its own Model e Certified program, it seems as if Lincoln’s version is “essentially on hold,” according to this report, a move that’s being made as the brand “rethinks its strategy.” Craig did note that the brand’s decision to trim its dealer network has nothing to do with the number of dealers that did or didn’t opt in for the EV sales program, however.
Previously, FoMoCo announced that the revised Lincoln EV sales program was deferring the timetable dealers were previously expected to follow when installing public fast chargers, along with various other tweaks. Lincoln dealers participating in the program weren’t required to have to install those chargers until March 2025 – instead of November 2024 as previously expected – and weren’t required to install a Level 2 charger in the new vehicle delivery area. Additionally, dealers had until July 2026 to an install a Level 3 public charger, and the program changed to cover three years – 2025-2027 – instead of two.
Dealers that opted not to sign up for the Lincoln EV sales program initially were going to get another chance to do so as well following these changes, though the estimated cost of doing that remained unchanged at around $900,000. Now, it’s unclear if the program will change again before its implementation, or if The Blue Oval will decide to go in a different direction altogether.