A group of 26 Illinois Ford dealers won a legal battle last week that could short-circuit the automaker’s national EV certification program, challenging required fast charger installation and training programs costing upward of $1.2 million per dealership to sell and service electric vehicles. The Illinois Motor Vehicle Review Board ruled in favor of the dealers Nov.
16 in their nearly year-old complaint against Ford, which alleged the program violated the state’s Motor Vehicle Franchise Act by cutting off EV products to those that didn’t pay up to participate. “Technically, that was a home run for the dealers,” said Joe McMahon, executive director of the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association. “So pretty much, it’s an illegal program in Illinois.” A Ford spokesperson said the automaker plans to appeal the decision. Ford’s Model e EV program includes specialized training and infrastructure improvements for dealers — at their own expense — as the automaker aims to have electric vehicles represent 50% of its sales by 203