The chip shortage is causing long delays on many vehicle models
Ford wants to sell waiting customers a vehicle before they decide to buy elsewhere
This incentive doesn’t apply to people waiting for the models with the longest delays
Due to having launched multiple highly anticipated models in the middle of an electronic chip shortage that is restricting production, Ford is unable to fulfill orders in a timely manner.
These delays cause some customers to loose patience and decide to cancel their order in favor of a vehicle from a competing brand that is more readily available.
In order to limit these occurrences, Ford has announced what it calls the “21MY In-Stock Customer Satisfaction Private Offer” which is a $2,000 rebate on the price of a vehicle that is part of a dealer stock that will be offered to customers who choose to abandon their order on certain Ford vehicles.
This offer represents a complete 180˚ turn in Ford’s strategy, since this summer the company gave people a $1,000 bonus in order to encourage them to wait on a new vehicle instead of buying in-stock.
This rebate doesn’t apply to the most popular Ford models, such as the Bronco, F-150 lightning and Tremor, maverick and E-Transit, meaning a customer waiting on a Bronco won’t be eligible if they decide to buy a Maverick instead.
However, they could get the $2,000 if they choose to go with an in-stock Mustang Mach-E, since this vehicle is included in the program however, Mach-E’s are also pretty rare on dealer lots, with most customers having to wait up to 28 weeks to receive theirs.
This offer could be interesting to some customers that are willing to let go of their custom order in favor of a vehicle that has already been built, but they look carefully at what is available to them, because choices are somewhat limited.
