Ford to close almost half its 400 UK dealerships by 2025
It has been announced this week that Ford will close almost half of its 400 UK franchised retail sites as part of a ‘Ford 2025 dealer plan’. It is estimated that nearly 180 dealerships will close under the new plan with the board of Directors looking to invest in building a “stronger and more sustainable profitable Ford sales and servicing network for the future in the UK”. Speaking to AM (Automotive Management) after yesterday’s meeting with the brand’s UK franchise partners at the OEM's training academy in Daventry – Andy Barratt, Chairman of Ford of Britain said that the ‘Ford 2025 dealer plan’ had resulted in a map of the UK that would see dealerships accessible to 90% of customers within a 30 minute drive time. Barratt said: “There will be no terminating of contracts as part of this plan and I fully appreciate and value the relationships that we have with our retailers. “Many have invested family savings and generations of work into their businesses...