Dealers Question Homogeneity In The Ford Dealership Renovation Program

Sunday, Ford Motors announced that it will match every dollar up to $750,000 that its dealerships commit to renovations. This is part of Ford's new dealership renovation program, which was introduced at the recent National Automobile Dealers Association Convention and Expo. All of Ford's 3,100 U.S. dealerships will be qualified for the restoration dollar-matching program.

Tries to renovate in the past

To be able to encourage dealership improvement, Ford is putting together an incentive program that has nothing to do with consumer scores or sales volume, according to Ford's Ken Czubay. He explained that this is very different from past efforts.

"It is our affirmative action to support our dealers in a great low-interest, growing market," he said.

The idea is to bring the dealerships all up to a certain standard with matching.

Hoping for all dealerships

While Ford has not revealed just how much it expects it will spend on the dealership restoration program, the car maker has made it clear that it would like all of its United States dealers and affiliates to participate in the program. So far, over 70 percent of Ford's Lincoln dealerships in the top 130 U.S. markets have signed on to renovate.

"This is about making sure the customers get in the store, get in the service department, they have a great modern experience," said Jim Farley, Ford and Lincoln's executive vice president of global marketing, sales and service. "It's not about just beautiful brand signs and what the dealership looks like on the outside."

Assuming program will be a great one

Most dealers are okay with the restoration program assuming it will make dealers more uniform, according to a recent NADA survey. Ford does allow for flexibility in standardization, but the idea in general was not all that popular.