Kerrigan says this lack of trust is “consistent with the expectation of a decline in future Ford franchise profitability due to the OEM’s EV/future retailing strategy.” In line with this, 58% of dealers also said they believe Ford’s planned changes to their dealership model will negatively impact future franchise profitability and value.
It seems like Ford’s plans to move away from the classic dealership structure and closer to a straight factory-to-customer one haven’t gone over well with dealers, even if it has been easier for buyers to get their hands on F-150s and Broncos. Thanks to all this negativity, 46% of dealers said they believe Ford franchises will decrease in value over the next 12 months.
The next four least trusted car companies are Nissan, Lincoln, Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge/Ram, and Infiniti. On the opposite end, after Toyota, you have Lexus, Subaru, Honda, and Porsche as the most trustworthy brands.