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Ford First Car Maker To Be Pissed Enough To Launch Used Car Platform So Dealers Can Regain Sales Leadership


PHOTO (select to view enlarged photo)
I’m Mad as Hell, and Ford won’t Take It Anymore

Editor's Note: Franchised Dealers Rock! We believe that the Ford move (with other brands joining in the party) signals the beginning of the end for the Wall Street Created Online Used Car Sales Disrupters Like, Carvana, Vroom, CarGurus, Cars.com, TrueCar, Edmunds, Auto Trader, etcetra, etcetra, etcetra. Dealer owned Used Car platforms a second chance for factory franchised dealers to eliminate third-party competition that is siphoning off billions of dollars in sales and maybe stop the buying and selling Jerk-Around that consumers dread and has been proven to avoid.

  • To better serve used car customers, Ford is launching an all-new used vehicle platform and brand, Ford Blue Advantage, as a digital marketplace aimed at maximizing use of digital technology and the scale of its 3,100 dealers.
  • DETROIT — November 19, 2020; Ford Motor Co said that by year end they will launch a new online used-vehicle platform and brand called Ford Blue Advantage in a bid to give its dealers a larger slice of the used-vehicle sales pie.

    Executives detailed the plans to some 8,000 dealership employees during a three-day virtual meeting. The video format, which included presentations by Executive Chairman Bill Ford, CEO Jim Farley and other top officials, replaced the typical annual meeting that would have taken place in Las Vegas in September.

    The used-car platform was among the newest initiatives dealers learned about through prerecorded messages and live sessions.

    “We believe from day one it will be the largest source of used Fords by far,” Mark LaNeve, Ford’s director of U.S. marketing, sales and service, said on a call with reporters. “If you want a 2015 Mustang convertible in canary yellow, we can probably find it.”

    He said the site will link all 3,100 dealers’ used inventory and feature guaranteed pricing and delivery. It also will have a “new certified pre-owned product,” LaNeve said, though he declined to provide further details.

    LaNeve said the automaker is launching its own brand because roughly 3 million used Fords are sold each year, with Ford dealers accounting for roughly one-third of those transactions. Ford executives would like to see that proportion rise.

    “We think using digital technology and the scale of our dealers, we’re going to capture a greater share of that business,” he said. “The used car part of the business is critically important to our dealers. It’s a huge source of their profitability.”

    In addition to announcing the new used-vehicle platform, Ford officials gave dealers information about upcoming products, commercial vehicle plans and the company’s growing accessories business.

    Ford also told dealers it would expand its FordPass Rewards program by creating three different membership tiers.

    “The main message is: We’re headed into growth mode,” LaNeve said.