We told you this will happen. Now, with the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning EV trucks on sale, it’s time to order the 2023 model before it sells out, too. So how do some merchants help buyers do this? By attaching huge profit margins on MSRP. Some of them have so far reached the $150,000 level. Where will you stop?
We don’t know the answer to that. What we do know is that Ford fined dealers up to $25,000 for Ford’s ordinance, which is that it wants all dealers to sell lightning for an MSRP. But with the price tags showing prices of $150,000 and possibly more, the profit is more than enough to cover the fine, and he still sheds $20k to $40k.
So who are the merchants with these crazy Lightning prices?
Check around, you will find a lot of dealers have dealt with brands much higher than their MSRP. Take the DCH Ford in Thousand Oaks, California. Thousand Oaks is fairly wealthy, so its citizens can afford the coding that DCH applies. The 2022 F-150 Lightning Platinum is advertised for $145,309. Pricing it, the MSRP is about $95,000. We don’t know the exact amount because the merchant doesn’t advertise the MSRP as you’d expect.
Doing the math, you’ll see DCH Ford is a good customer paying $50,000 on MSRP. Such a deal! But other traders aren’t shy about posting ridiculous MSRP numbers. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, Dorsch Ford listed the Lightning at a list price of $92,569. However, the price for the Dorsch is $132,569.
Lightning dealers are looking to get at least $40,000 in MSRP
You see, that’s $40,000 more than the advertised sticker price. Minus a notional $25,000 from Ford, Dorsch walks away $15,000 plus whatever brand is already considered out there. This friendly Ford dealer seems to have some unfriendly pricing.
Back in California, the Ford Authority reported that Nappa Ford had a Platinum Lightning car that was advertised at $133,854. Suggested retail price is $93,854. Another trader is looking for 40 thousand dollars in Buyah. Or expect a Ford MSRP directive, it looks like Napa will settle for $15,000, plus whatever the baked-out dealer price.
What can you do about this?
So what if you want a new Lightning but have the guts to want it for an MSRP? The obvious course of action is shopping. Don’t just head to Dorsch or DCH Ford just because they are your nearest dealer. Not all Ford dealers are in a moody mood. And according to Ford, nearly all of its dealers are as pure as snow white.
The other thing to do, if you can, is to wait. Maybe in a year or so prices will stabilize. In particular, if Agent pieces start to pile up with Lightnings, you won’t want to sit on them for long. For them, it is about moving the metal and making a profit.
Ford at least says it wants to cut profit margins after the company ran into problems with the launch of the Mustang Mach-E and Bronco. General Motors said the same about its GMC Hummer EV. Suddenly, there’s a race for everything EV. Apparently, it’s the hottest thing on the block at the moment.
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