Ford is swamped with F-150 Lightning orders, and it is taking particular steps to verify the electrical pickup truck reaches honest-to-goodness patrons. Roadshow studies Ford is now giving dealerships the choice to ban clients from reselling the Lightning for as much as a yr after buy. As the (since-pulled) doc on the F-150 Gen 14 boards revealed, the supplier may “search injunctive aid” to dam the possession switch and even demand fee for “all worth” generated from the sale.
The automaker can also be cracking down on a “restricted quantity” of sellers that allegedly violated gross sales and repair phrases by forcing clients to make further funds past these Ford requires. It’s not clear simply what these funds have been, though this implies they have been greater than the markups you steadily see when vehicles are scarce or in excessive demand.
This no-resale clause is not new to the automotive world. Ford used it to make sure its GT supercar reached actual house owners. However, it is nonetheless uncommon for EVs — notably for comparatively mainstream autos just like the F-150 Lighting. This displays the recognition of the Lightning, in fact, however it may additionally be important to Ford. Scalping has harm entry to many different tech merchandise, similar to recreation consoles and video playing cards — Ford possible does not need these opportunists to bitter the launch of such an essential automobile, notably with Chevy, Rivian and Tesla chasing after lots of the similar clients.