Ford’s new EV dealer network will result in one of the largest DC fast-charging networks in the US

Ford’s newly announced EV dealer network will result in the automaker operating one of the largest DC fast-charging networks in the US.

Yesterday, we reported on Ford’s announcement that two-thirds of its dealers are joining the Model e program to sell electric vehicles.

The result is that a third of Ford dealers won’t be selling electric vehicles until at least 2027 when the automaker does another round of the Model e network.

There are debates about whether two-thirds of Ford’s US dealers getting onboard with Ford’s plans is a good rate or not, but regardless of that, there’s a less appreciated result from the deal: Ford is going to get one of the largest DC fast-charging networks in the US.

Two-thirds of Ford’s US dealers add up to 1,920 dealers. From a pure location standpoint, that would make Ford’s network the largest DC fast-charging network in the US.

That would be way more than EVgo’s 850+ stations, or Electrify America’s 800+ stations, and even a little more than Tesla’s just over 1,500 Superchargers in the US.

However, the number of locations is just one metric to judge charging networks and not the best one.

The number of chargers is a better metric and other than Tesla and some of the more recent Electrify America stations, most charging networks only deploy a few chargers per station.

Ford’s dealer charging network is no exception. As part of the requirements to become a Model e dealer, dealers have to invest in a single DC fast-charger to be in the “Certified” tier and two chargers to be in the “Certified Elite” tier.

The good news is that 1,659 of the 1,920 dealers on board with Model e will be “Certified Elite” tier. That means that the charging network operated by Ford dealers in the US will have a total of over 3,500 fast chargers.

Electrek’s Take

That’s a big deal, but there are some caveats. The number of chargers per location is one, but also the locations themselves are not ideal.

They are all at dealerships – some of which are in good locations for chargers with amenities around them, but others will be in “dealership rows,” which are not ideal for charging.

Regardless, they are still going to be better than nothing, especially in the south and in the midwest where they are some CCS charging dead zones.

I know a lot of people will say that one or two chargers is nothing, but I would keep in mind that one or two DC fast chargers is still a major investment, so good on those dealers.