Ford Motor Co. plans to more than quadruple the number of dealers who can sell plug-in electric vehicles in an effort to boost sales of three vehicles.
The Dearborn automaker will have 900 certified dealers by this spring, up from the 200 it had near the end of last year. The 900 dealers, which will have specially trained sales and service staff, plus at least two on-site charging stations, means approximately one-third of all Ford U.S. dealers will be able sell plug-in EVs.
Certifications will allow dealers to sell the Focus Electric, C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid and the Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid, which is due out this quarter.
The new certified dealers will be spread out across the country. The first 200 dealers were spread out across the country, with first priority being markets where electric vehicles are most popular, like California and New York.