By Cornelius Nunev


Ford Motor Co. wants its sellers in top condition. That's why the car maker has pledged to match finances on its dealership renovation program, as an incentive to upgrade.

Ford dealership restoration program differs from past efforts

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.

Great with all dealerships

While Ford has not revealed just how much it expects it will spend on the car 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 United States 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."

Some dealers okay with plan

According to a recent survey released by NADA, auto dealers are only "mildly positive" concerning restoration programs, as the general assumption is that such programs will lead to making a uniform search for all dealerships. Standardization was highly unpopular among dealerships in the NADA survey, although Ford does allow for some flexibility on a case-by-case basis, notes The Detroit News.




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