Season 2, Episode 88 - June 28, 2022

S2:E88 - Ford eliminates buyout options for EV leases. And, Changes at the dealership.

In this episode, Ford changes the buyout options for leased Electric Vehicles. And, changes at the dealership are taken in stride by sales consultants.

Mike Talks Cars is an automotive podcast addressing current news, quick updates on new vehicles, and something from this Automotive Trainer that can help you understand the world of automobiles a little better.

New mini-episodes, like this one, will be available 2 or 3 times each week. Subscribe and join me for this quick run through the Automotive world. Subscribe and join me for this quick run through the  Automotive world.

I am your host, Mike Little, and I have spent my career training Sales Consultants and Managers on how to create and deliver world-class Customer Experiences. You can find more from me on Anchor, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts and on Apple Podcasts at Mike Talks Cars.

Hi Everyone. This is Mike Talks Cars podcast.

Today, Ford eliminates buyout options for EV leases. And, Changes at the dealership.


In New Vehicle News:

Lessees of Ford’s F150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and other Ford EVs will no longer be able to exercise a buyout to own these vehicles at lease end. A Ford spokesperson told Car and Driver that, and I quote, “Ford’s battery strategy includes recycling and localizing battery production, and Ford Credit’s plan for EV leasing enables customers to replace their vehilces with the newest model at lease end while keeping the vehicle in the Ford network longer so Ford can better manage battery recycling and materials.”

This policy went into effect on June 15th, 2022. Leases entered into before that date have a buy out option at lease end, as do leases for non-electric vehicles. This is an interesting move at a time that other brands are also moving to limit a customer’s ability to sell their lease to entities outside their brand.

One of the motivations for this move could be to control both the new and used vehicle supply during this time of inventory shortages and high consumer demand. In today’s lease market, it is important to check out your lease-end options. They may be different now when compared to your last leased vehicle.

Now for some musings with the Trainer:

As I visit dealerships around the area where I live, I have noticed some very interesting changes. I was in a store recently where half of the vehicles in the showroom were used. Another store had no vehicles in the showroom at all.

As I chatted with staff I noticed empty offices and there were not many, and in some cases any, customers wandering around. The sales consultants and managers I visited with were pretty relaxed and appeared to have everything under control. Welcome to our new reality, was the attitude I witnessed.

This is one of the amazing things about the automotive industry that has always impressed me and one of the reasons that I have spent my life working in it.

The innovation and hustle of the people that make the car business their career impress me. Sure, there seem to be fewer people working in the sales department but those that are tend to be those that have survived other changes in the past. They just show up and find a way to take care of their customers and even find a few new customers to help them pay the mortgage.

The tools they use are always adjusting and adapting but their customer focus remains. Pandemic? Inventory shortages? Change? What change? This is just another wrinkle in the fabric of our lives.

This is Mike Little reminding you that… Hey, selling is fun…go have a great day.

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