A More Bespoke Ford: Ford Will Custom Build Your Next Vehicle

[Knickell]

Ford Will Build Your Next Car to Your Custom Order

By Sean Tucker 07/30/2021 8:45am

Americans are accustomed to buying a car from what the dealership has in stock. We may have a particular car in mind – a certain color, trim level, and set of optional features. But, for generations, we’ve gone into the negotiation process knowing that we might drive out in something that isn’t quite what we wanted. We also, crucially, want to drive a new car home the day we buy it.

Europeans are not like this. They order precisely the car they want, signing the paperwork for the deal, and go home to wait for it. This system gives them exactly the custom vehicle of their dreams but requires patience in getting it.

Ford: We’re Committed to Build-to-Order
Over the last year, though, American car buying has slowly come to resemble the European experience. It happened largely by accident – a combination of coronavirus-related changes to how we shop, and microchip-shortage-related changes to how dealerships stock cars. But Ford would like to make the changes permanent.

“We are really committed to going to an order-based system,” Ford CEO Jim Farley told reporters this week on a conference call discussing the automaker’s second-quarter profits.

Coronavirus Changed Car Shopping Expectations
As Americans dealt with travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 crisis last year, the car shopping experience changed. Negotiations started to take place online. Dealerships arranged touchless test drives. And consumers liked it.

Kelley Blue Book research shows that buyers were happier with the new experience than they had been with sitting in a dealership and talking through inventory with a salesperson.

Microchip Shortage Scaled Back Inventories
Dealerships, meanwhile, saw their inventories grow tighter and tighter. Much of the change came due to a worldwide shortage of microchips that restricted the number of cars automakers could build.

Automakers measure their supply of cars using a metric called days of inventory — how long it would take to sell out of a particular model if they stopped building it today. At the start of July, dealers had an average of just 25 days worth of cars to sell. That’s a record low, according to Cox Automotive, parent company of Kelley Blue Book.

Though much of the inventory shortage is due to the limited supply of microchips, at least some of it may be happening on purpose. Carrying lower inventories saves dealerships money (they’re making payments on the cars on their lots) and keeps automakers from stocking too many examples of a model and needing to discount them to get sales moving again.

Incentives Shrinking
That’s a situation Ford would like to avoid. “I know we are wasting money on incentives,” Farley said this week. But, with supply tight and demand high, incentives are disappearing. The average new car buyer paid 99.9% of sticker price in June.

A build-to-order model would require a mental shift from American buyers. They’d need to accept signing for their new car and then waiting for it to arrive. But there’s some evidence that shift is beginning.

A New Iconic Moment: The New Car Delivery
Used car giants like Carvana and Vroom have built their marketing around images of Americans celebrating the moment a truck pulls up to their driveway to deliver their new car. Carvana ads that feature the delivery truck driver as a hero have punctuated recent Olympic coverage.

None of this has escaped Ford’s notice. The company hasn’t ruled out keeping a supply of cars on dealership lots so that buyers could drive home in a new car the day they set out to buy one. But Farley’s words could signal a cultural change in the way Americans shop for a new car.

Courtesy of Kelley Blue Book: https://www.kbb.com/car-news/ford-will-build-your-next-car-to-your-custom-order/

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[Knickell]

This is one of the few good things to come from this whole worldwide backlog mess.

My F-150 was my first new vehicle purchase, and I was certain I would not find exactly what I wanted on a dealer lot, and I wasn't going to settle or be sold to. I couldn't see the point in spending that kind of change for a vehicle and not getting what I wanted. Thankfully Ford seems to be on track with this custom order business model!

 

[Platimatter]

Good course to take to avoid any negotiation, carry less inventory, eliminate rebates / incentives and charge close to sticker for their vehicles. They need to remember that alot of people ordered because they could not find what they wanted on a lot, any lot. These extraordinary times do not necessarily need to become our new normal. Usually the ford dealers in any mid size / major city will carry so many F150's that at some point your configuration, or very close to it will be available within a short distance. Also if this is the course they take the prices should reflect the fact that any incentives / rebates or possible negotiation have been removed and therefore drop accordingly. Willing to bet this concept will be revisited once these tens of thousands of F150's arrive en masse to our local dealerships.

 

[Knickell]

It is preferential, but before we hit peak shortage, I got my F-150 custom ordered the exact way I required and got about $7K off MSRP. It took a little leg work and shopping around, but I finally was able to find a good dealer.

I agree there would be less incentive for dealers to negotiate with a custom order.

The American dealership business model is buy and large regarded in a negative manner by consumers because there is such a lack of consistency in customer service, and a disconnect between the dealer/franchisee and the auto manufacturer. There are many great dealers, but for everyone good one, there is another (if not two) that are shady and seem like they make it their aim to screw people.

If I have my way, I’ll only ever buy new vehicles through custom order, but I know a large part of the public likes the instant gratification of driving home a new car same day. It can be a balance. It will be on dealers to either accommodate both immediate retail customers and customers such as myself, or fall by the wayside if they cannot adapt.

It will be interesting to see how they adjust for sure.

 

[dhrandy]

It is preferential, but before we hit peak shortage, I got my F-150 custom ordered the exact way I required and got about $7K off MSRP. It took a little leg work and shopping around, but I finally was able to find a good dealer.

I agree there would be less incentive for dealers to negotiate with a custom order.

The American dealership business model is buy and large regarded in a negative manner by consumers because there is such a lack of consistency in customer service, and a disconnect between the dealer/franchisee and the auto manufacturer. There are many great dealers, but for everyone good one, there is another (if not two) that are shady and seem like they make it their aim to screw people.

If I have my way, I’ll only ever buy new vehicles through custom order, but I know a large part of the public likes the instant gratification of driving home a new car same day. It can be a balance. It will be on dealers to either accommodate both immediate retail customers and customers such as myself, or fall by the wayside if they cannot adapt.

It will be interesting to see how they adjust for sure.

I think for the person that likes all the bells and whistles (nothing wrong with those people), the car lot is the way to go. From what I've seen, they typically have the cheapest and most expensive models. Very rarely have I seen a Lariat under $60,000, but you'll see base XLTs and XLs on the lots (not as many now). There were many options that I didn't want and probably saved a little more money actually ordering it online. When I'm spending $50,000 plus on a car, I want it how I want it. lol

 

[Knickell]

I think for the person that likes all the bells and whistles (nothing wrong with those people), the car lot is the way to go. From what I've seen, they typically have the cheapest and most expensive models. Very rarely have I seen a Lariat under $60,000, but you'll see base XLTs and XLs on the lots (not as many now). There were many options that I didn't want and probably saved a little more money actually ordering it online. When I'm spending $50,000 plus on a car, I want it how I want it. lol

EXACTLY!! I loaded my Lariat up, but with how configurable F-150s are there are nearly limitless ways to customize them. With how much it costs, I wasn’t going to settle.

 

[Bryan Simon]

For probably the last pickup I will have, I wanted to step up jus a bit from basically base v8/stick trucks.
Also, for the last 15 years dealing with shortbed trucks, this was not in the cards again.
I wanted an 8’ Extended cab 4x4 with console and a v8. Not a lot of fluff, but I wanted some shiney stuff.
Not an available configuration in Dodge or GM in a half ton.

So, I was left with option of finding one on a lot somewhere (hah hah hah) or order.
My intent was to order a 2020, but I was just a little bit too late.
Ordered the same truck in a 2021 having no clue whatsoever it was an all new truck.
This was actually not my first effort looking for something like this And this actually started in the mid 90s.
Several years of renting pickups in my work travels already had me leaning heavily to the Ford (this is my first full size Ford pickup).

I would guess that 90% of shoppers have no clue what they want on a vehicle until they get in one.
probably why one does not see mid levels in any trim on a lot.

If I were more “conventional“ in my wants or needs, a lot truck would be fine.
I may be shopping for a vehicle for her soon. Any standard package vehicle she will most likely be happy with. She’s not that picky. She had no idea her current car was a 4x4 for over a year after we got it.

 

[spectre446]

All they're doing is copying what Tesla has been doing for years ? custom order, wait several weeks, no haggling/deals/incentives.

 

[Knickell]

I would guess that 90% of shoppers have no clue what they want on a vehicle until they get in one.

That is probably very true. Hence why they are easier to get taken advantage of, or upsold to at a dealership.

 

[Pedaldude]

...Willing to bet this concept will be revisited once these tens of thousands of F150's arrive en masse to our local dealerships.

I would not be surprised at all if the dealers went back to the old model regardless of Ford's wishes. The dealerships in my area don't give two shits about customer service. They operate on a slash and burn Glengarry Glen Ross style sales model where they feel that they absolutely need to close a deal with any customers who walk in. A custom order model would really send them for a loop. Though not as badly as the current shortages. Other than a few Landcruisers and Supras in the showroom, the closest Toyota dealer had Zero new cars. The lot was empty and while I was getting parts, they told me there was a three month waiting list since they were still selling at MSRP. Customers who didn't know about the shortage were calling up to ask if the dealership had moved! So who knows, as long as it remains a seller's market, custom orders make a lot of sense.

I expect more of a hybrid model, where they will continue to stock a lot of the most popular models/trims like F-150 but only keep a small selection of other models, just enough for test drives and sales to people who didn't plan on needing a car.

Stuff with lower margins, like the new Maverick will make sense and then there's Bronco which I think has twice as many permutations as the F-150. Which would make it really hard to keep every variety in stock.

 

[spud_41]

Do you think with this embrace of custom orders they'll be able to accommodate picking say a Lariat Sport Appearance with Slate Interior? I don't care but my bil doesn't like the chrome and wants a lighter interior.

 

[Dixie]

It's great to say that consumers prefer the "made to order" style of purchasing, but are they willing to pay list price? The answer is no. I agree that a hybrid solution is the likely reality but it's nothing new and it already exists. People can custom order whatever they want from any brand they chose, no dealer would say no to it. The issue arises when people do not want to pay MSRP and a dealer offers "in stock" immiediate gratification in exchange for $$$ discounts. Most manufacturers offer dealer side incentives for hitting volume targets, so a person taking immediate delivery could translate into hundreds of dollars per unit sold in a month. The dealer will obviously offer and push for something that's available, but there's also some responsibility on the customers shoulders when they accept that incentive and forego a custom order.

 

[UGADawg96]

Custom orders are more attractive when vehicles like the F150 have over a hundred possible configurations. However, if one is looking for a honda or subaru, you really only have 4 or 5 trims and then colors, so they can pump them out from the factory and stick with the current way it's been done. You can even see it in the build and price tools on their sites, there aren't that many configurations. The reason I did a custom order for the F150 is wanting the powerboost with towing mirrors, 157 wb, no chrome, no moonroof, nor sliding rear window.

 

[Knickell]

Custom orders are more attractive when vehicles like the F150 have over a hundred possible configurations. However, if one is looking for a honda or subaru, you really only have 4 or 5 trims and then colors, so they can pump them out from the factory and stick with the current way it's been done. You can even see it in the build and price tools on their sites, there aren't that many configurations. The reason I did a custom order for the F150 is wanting the powerboost with towing mirrors, 157 wb, no chrome, no moonroof, nor sliding rear window.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Knickell]

Do you think with this embrace of custom orders they'll be able to accommodate picking say a Lariat Sport Appearance with Slate Interior? I don't care but my bil doesn't like the chrome and wants a lighter interior.

I don’t know. I would hope so, but all auto manufacturers do seemingly silly things with their vehicle’s options/packages/colors/features. I’d say the reason they do things like certain interior colors with certain features (and so forth) are cost and/or convenience motivated for them. The F-150 is immensely customizable even with the “lock outs” of certain things they currently have. I could empathize that it would be ordering and production line chaos if any customer could order EVERY single spec the way they wanted.

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