Calif. dealers to Ford: Don't punish us for not building separate Lincoln stores

The California New Car Dealers Association is asking Ford Motor Co. to immediately cease anti-dualing policies in California and to halt plans to withhold part of dealer margin for stores that don't divide facilities.The association also called on the automaker to stop threats to cut off co-op payments for dual stores that don't comply with requests by Ford and Lincoln to create separate trade names.Ford's Lincoln brand this year asked its dealers in the top 30 U.S. luxury markets to construct standalone stores, citing oftentimes higher sales figures for those stores and surveys that indicate luxury customers prefer buying in their own dedicated space.In a Nov. 20 letter to Ford CEO Jim Hackett, association President Brian Maas says Ford and Lincoln dealer members have "serious concerns" about a policy they say financially hurts dealers who operate dual Ford-Lincoln stores. The association, which claims anti-dualing policies violate aspects of California franchise laws, seeks a response from Hackett by Dec. 8.In April this year, Ford and Lincoln sent a document to dealers stating dual dealers must have "two brand exclusive trade names [i.e. Youngstown Ford and Youngstown Lincoln]," according to the letter. Dealers also have received communication that indicates if they don't comply with the name requirements, they won't receive a co-op reimbursement from Ford, which is about $100,000 a year per dealership, the letter says.And in August, dealers received another communication about the Lincoln Commitment Program that said Ford-Lincoln would withhold 3.5 percent of a dealer's margin if they operate a dual facility, according to the letter."By withholding 3.5 percent of a dealer's margin, Ford/Lincoln penalizes each dealer that operates a dual Ford-Lincoln facility hundreds of thousands of dollars per year," Maas wrote in the letter. "This could push many otherwise profitable dealers into the red."Maas said the margin policy is unfair to dual dealers. He told Automotive News that dealers have told him the policies are slated to go into effect around Jan. 1. Lincoln response

Calif. dealers to Ford: Don't punish us for not building separate Lincoln stores

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