Re:Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegoti...
by smsm42 on Friday June 03, 2022 @12:01AM
(#31604137)
Tesla doesn't need more showrooms. But somebody like Honda or Toyota couldn't do with the same one-showroom-per-state model. That's why I have three Honda dealerships and three Toyota dealerships within 30 minutes drive of me.
> Tesla itself planned to close (all) their showrooms at some point,
Maybe for Tesla it could work. For Toyota - they'd be insane to do something like that.
> Do you think Ford can’t afford five or ten showrooms?
They could afford, but that would cost them. And it probably won't be very efficient. For Tesla, whose buyers have little concern for price, and whose meme value is obvious, it may work. For Ford, which very much competes on price and utility with about a dozen other makers, I don't think such a move would be survivable. They could sell one special model this way, maybe, but making whole business - I'll believe it when I see it, done not for a niche rich people's car but by some mass-market vendor.
> Tesla itself planned to close (all) their showrooms at some point,
Maybe for Tesla it could work. For Toyota - they'd be insane to do something like that.
> Do you think Ford can’t afford five or ten showrooms?
They could afford, but that would cost them. And it probably won't be very efficient. For Tesla, whose buyers have little concern for price, and whose meme value is obvious, it may work. For Ford, which very much competes on price and utility with about a dozen other makers, I don't think such a move would be survivable. They could sell one special model this way, maybe, but making whole business - I'll believe it when I see it, done not for a niche rich people's car but by some mass-market vendor.