Dealers May Receive Unfinished Trucks From Ford To Improve Stock

Jane Lu
· 3 min read
Since the pandemic began, supplies of products in virtually all industries have been limited because of a shortage of production materials and other factors.
The auto industry is not immune to that issue, and car manufacturers have been unable to deliver the volume of vehicles that dealers are used to receiving. The car shortages have caused increased prices for both used and new cars.
Ford
plans to send dealers unfinished trucks in an effort to boost stock for the dealerships. There are some drawbacks to this approach for dealers and consumers. Buying a vehicle that isn't manufactured the way you're expecting might make you more worried about its safety, so
choosing the proper
car insurance for your Ford
will be important.
Car shortages are calling for drastic measures to improve supply

Ford is considering shipping vehicles without chips

Autoblog
reported on Ford's plan to ship incomplete F-150s to dealers. Along with the semiconductor shortage, a fire in a clean room of one of the automaker's biggest chip suppliers is putting extra pressure on Ford's production. Ford has come up with a plan that it’s discussing with dealers to ship trucks before the chips are installed.
The dealers' service staff would receive training on how to install the hardware, which would be done at each dealership. The dealers would be compensated for nearly an hour’s worth of labor required to complete each repair.
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Potential issues with Ford’s plan

MORE: Ford Forced to Halt Production on 2 Popular Models
Before Ford's plan to boost inventory shortages can be implemented, there are important questions that need to be answered. Safety will be one of the biggest concerns for dealers and car buyers.
The chips control key systems in the vehicle, and even with training, a dealer's service staff isn't used to installing them. If something happens to the vehicles down the road, dealers are wary of being responsible for the trucks that had the chips installed by their staff.
The dealers will also be concerned about the financial aspect of the arrangement. They won't want to be obligated to have to pay for and insure vehicles that aren't ready to be sold. They also won't know when they can sell the trucks as they wait for chips.

Dealers might not be on board with the plan

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From Ford's perspective, the plan will solve the company's biggest issue of inventory. The company will be able to keep production lines rolling and get the stock out to dealers. Ford will collect the money for the vehicles and then it’ll be up to dealers to successfully install the chips and sell the trucks.
With the onus being placed on the dealers, they may not like the plan as much as Ford's executives. Only the dealers who agree to the plan, which is still just an idea, would receive the unfinished trucks. That number may not be as high as Ford would like it to be.
You might be more worried about vehicle reliability if a truck had its chip installed at a dealer rather than at Ford's factory.
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