Ford will impose new standards to limit dealership abuse.
One step includes a revised name-match policy.
The Blue Oval intends to curb abuses by some Ford dealerships by revising a number of its standards. We’ve all heard about dealerships adding massive markups to MSRPs and one of the steps that Ford will take to partially curb this practice is by increasing the name-match threshold for order-reservation conversions.
2021 Ford Bronco Wildtrak 4-door | Photo: Olivier Delorme
What’s happened in the past with the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Bronco, and others, is that some dealerships were creating fake orders. This would create demand, help the dealers bypass the established allocation systems, and increase inventories. Up until recently, to limit possibly abusing the program, 70% of all orders had to name-match, in other words, the person who placed the order had to take delivery of the vehicle.
Despite this policy, Ford stores had up to 120 days from the “order receipt date” and “dealer delivery date” to earn a pass on this policy, according to Ford Authority. This grace period will no longer be in effect.
The “abuse” has forced Ford to increase the name-match threshold to 75% starting next month. Should dealers fail to meet the new guidelines, real penalties will apply. They will range from a one-month “total allocation forfeiture” and, should it be necessary following a third violation, the dealership will be expulsed from Ford’s Name Match and Integrity Policy altogether.
As 2023 model year vehicles begin arriving, the name-match policy threshold will rise to 80%. We’re quite certain the imminent arrival of the F-150 Lightning is behind this push.
