Fordês Mark Fields sees greater role for dealers in future
As Ford transforms itself from being solely a car company to a mobility provider, dealers will play an even greater role than they do now, said Ford CEO Mark Fields at the opening session of the 2017 NADA Convention on Jan. 27 in New Orleans.
I want to say unequivocally that Ford firmly believes in this franchise model, Fields said. We at Ford see dealers playing an even more important role as we expand our business to be both an auto and mobility company. The role of dealers will likely change, Fields added. They could provide charging stations for driverless electric vehicles or parking lots for ride sharing services.
Fields talked about the changes in autonomous driving, electric vehicles and ride sharing. The automaker plans to add 13 electric vehicles within five years and offer a fully autonomous car for commercial use in 2021.
Fields spoke briefly about the Detroit automakersê meeting with President Trump at the White House that occurred earlier in the week. The CEOs told the president a single, national fuel economy standard is important. But if consumer preferences are not taken into account and more flexibility given to meet the standard, more than 1 million jobs could be at risk, Fields said.
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