Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford, is starting to realize that there simply has to be a better way of selling cars to the public than just mass-producing a lot of cars. (A literal parking lot, at that.) In any case, it seems to work out better for car manufacturers if they get customers to custom order vehicles instead of choosing from the lay of the land. As far as the timeliness of it all, it’s not great.
There’s a global pandemic occurring at the same time as a semiconductor chip shortage, which is taking many lives in the auto industry itself. You have various factories, for Ford and beyond running low on semiconductors. Which is concerning, to say the least. To say the most? By bringing cars from home to a new realm of worries, you have to worry if the lacking of chips is a critical excuse. One of which for Ford to be in a rut they can’t afford to climb out of.
As Jim Farley is noted for saying, “We are really committed to going to an order-based system and keeping inventories at 50 to 60 days’ supply.”
For Ford specifically, they have begun to shift into a new phase of the car buying future.
Ford Express Buy is an example of that progression. For instance, when a customer wants a Mustang Mach-E, all the dealer has to do is show the customer to the dealer-priced inventory, choose a payment option and potentially receive trade-in value, thanks to Ford. Though it’s a technological push to admire, the largest problem residing is that there may not be so many people who only want Ford Mustang-Es. Because that’s all that’s available. Additionally, it’s through select dealers that this option is most readily available. It just takes some approval from Ford Credit, and you can even ship it to out to your house.
