Ultimate 2023MY PRICE PROTECTION Flowchart

[MichiganMichael]

Yeah I've always thought the Job #1 date was a little misleading. Seems pretty clear production starts well before that. But maybe they're all pre-production units or something (seems like an awfully large amount of pre-production units to be honest, but meh). Not familiar enough with that side of the business to be in-the-know about that stuff.

Prior to job 1 during a model year change over you have MPI units. These are like preproduction but they are building every “possible” combo they couldn’t before. Just to ensure everything goes together properly. I say possible, as they will bundle options together to cut down on the number of required builds. With the change over to HE models, white tops, new colors, etc, they need to verify they are built with no issues during productions. Then job 1 starts, and then They have to build X number of vehicles clean, to achieve OKTB. Then they can build retail units. Job 1 usually is right after MPI units, but before OKTB. MPI units usually end up at dealers who agree to take them. I had to place several GT500 MPI units in my time. They usually don’t get turned down. Dealers have no say in options , colors, etc. then job 1 usually begins. OKTB is also when they can release any new model year units from the plant. They hold all units till they hit OKTB in case an issue pops up and they can correct it before it leaves the plant. No sense shipping units only to discover there was a part or vehicle quality issue that wasn’t caught soon enough. Number of units wavers between 500 error free, or 5 days error free, etc.

Jobs are determined by package changes. The first year of the new explorer had several jobs as they fine tuned package offerings. Any mid year changes require a job change.

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[mtnbiker]

My dealer placed an order for me but never associated that order with my reservation. So now I have that reservation with automated emails from Ford telling me to convert my order. The dealer says they don't know how to associate the two. Will I end up getting screwed out of price protection?

 

[Lowcountry Bronco]

My dealer placed an order for me but never associated that order with my reservation. So now I have that reservation with automated emails from Ford telling me to convert my order. The dealer says they don't know how to associate the two. Will I end up getting screwed out of price protection?

When was your original reservation date and when was the dealer order date. The private offer is defined by those to the amount you get. If you have an early reservation you might want to convert it to get a higher amount and since it's tied to your name and not order use it for whatever shows up first.

 

[Beach_Bum]

Prior to job 1 during a model year change over you have MPI units. These are like preproduction but they are building every “possible” combo they couldn’t before. Just to ensure everything goes together properly. I say possible, as they will bundle options together to cut down on the number of required builds. With the change over to HE models, white tops, new colors, etc, they need to verify they are built with no issues during productions. Then job 1 starts, and then They have to build X number of vehicles clean, to achieve OKTB. Then they can build retail units. Job 1 usually is right after MPI units, but before OKTB. MPI units usually end up at dealers who agree to take them. I had to place several GT500 MPI units in my time. They usually don’t get turned down. Dealers have no say in options , colors, etc. then job 1 usually begins. OKTB is also when they can release any new model year units from the plant. They hold all units till they hit OKTB in case an issue pops up and they can correct it before it leaves the plant. No sense shipping units only to discover there was a part or vehicle quality issue that wasn’t caught soon enough. Number of units wavers between 500 error free, or 5 days error free, etc.

Jobs are determined by package changes. The first year of the new explorer had several jobs as they fine tuned package offerings. Any mid year changes require a job change.

And that process makes sense for the standard HE that I saw. But seeing an Azure Gray Black Diamond roll down the line early doesn't make sense to me. There is no difference on the Black Diamond from year to year. The only difference is what the paint robot sprayed.

 

[Lewisj41]

And that process makes sense for the standard HE that I saw. But seeing an Azure Gray Black Diamond roll down the line early doesn't make sense to me. There is no difference on the Black Diamond from year to year. The only difference is what the paint robot sprayed.

Can your share the Azure Gray line pic that you referenced?

 

[Beach_Bum]

Can your share the Azure Gray line pic that you referenced?

I can't. Sorry.

 

[MichiganMichael]

And that process makes sense for the standard HE that I saw. But seeing an Azure Gray Black Diamond roll down the line early doesn't make sense to me. There is no difference on the Black Diamond from year to year. The only difference is what the paint robot sprayed.

Ummm... You literally told me exactly why it DID roll down. As mentioned, it's ALL new options, including paint. It was Azure Grey, which is, I believe, a new color this year. Right?


Also, they will take MPI/Preproduction units and put them into corporate service. This could be vehicles used as marketing units, Off-Roadeo units, corporate cars, Evaluation units, etc. I had an MPI 2020 Escape as a corporate car for a while. Loved that little thing. If I needed a commuter car, or my kids were older and needed a car, it would be a solid choice.

 

[RagnarKon]

My dealer placed an order for me but never associated that order with my reservation. So now I have that reservation with automated emails from Ford telling me to convert my order. The dealer says they don't know how to associate the two. Will I end up getting screwed out of price protection?

If you don't have a build date yet, I would have your dealer create a new order attached to your reservation, and cancel the existing order.

BUT, to answer the question there is probably a way to associate the two as I've seen a handful of dealer memos go out with "how to" guides for dealers. I just haven't seen the internals of the reservation system so I've never seen it done myself.

 

[Fly by Nite]

@MichiganMichael , can you tell us if there are continuing constraints for 2 door Broncos for 2023, and if yes, what is/are the issue(s)? Has Webasto reached full production capacity at their first plant, and is their new 2022 plant also producing tops for the Bronco?

Apologies for getting a little off-topic, but many of us are still waiting for our early res 2 doors.... if mine doesn't get built in 2023, 2024 pricing is going to be a big question.

Sorry to hear about your layoff, and best of luck in procuring a new position to further your career.

 

[MichiganMichael]

@MichiganMichael , can you tell us if there are continuing constraints for 2 door Broncos for 2023, and if yes, what is/are the issue(s)? Has Webasto reached full production capacity at their first plant, and is their new 2022 plant also producing tops for the Bronco?

Apologies for getting a little off-topic, but many of us are still waiting for our early res 2 doors.... if mine doesn't get built in 2023, 2024 pricing is going to be a big question.

Sorry to hear about your layoff, and best of luck in procuring a new position to further your career.

Apologies, I don't know that for sure. I was laid off on August 22, so anything that has happened beyond that I don't have intimate knowledge of.

I do know that prior to that, they had constraints on the 2 door for several reasons.

1) The take rate was not where they thought it was going to be, so they cut production output so as to not "clog" dealer lots.

2) the tops. Webasto just completely shit the bed on this, so they could only produce so many tops, leading to the constraint on 2 door. If you don't have the top, you can't make the car. This was such a huge issue, that "unofficially" Ford had pumped so much money into Webasto to try and fix the issue, that it was assumed Ford was going to take over ownership of the company. The unofficial number was in the 100's of millions they put into that plant. But Webasto has also been shitting the bed as it pertains to sunroofs as well. Ford also had their own factory employees go to Webasto to try and help and sort things out. It wasn't just money they poured into that company, but people and resources.

3rd) Profit mix. From my understanding, the profit on the 2 door is less than the profit on the 4 door. They control that mix to optimize profit while also taking care of mix and diversity. so they balance profit vs commodity vs demand vs production output. They actually have teams of people that run these calculations. Even down to the regional level. As in, what sells in the Houston region, and how do we build out their 'production mix' vs Dallas vs the other 19 regions.

#3 was a huge hurdle for Ford. Chevy will just build whatever, and has higher EBIT then Ford, and it's a thorn in Ford's side. One they are trying to fix.



And thank you ! I landed at a pretty amazing company. Capital Goods manufacturer, with a significant compensation bump, responsibility bump, as well as a company my grandpa worked at for 40 years. So all in all, it was a blessing!

oh, rumor, and just rumor, is that either '24 or '25 is going to be a refresh. Something to keep in mind.

 

[Fly by Nite]

Thanks for the reply Michael, and congrats on the new job!

While we here have known about the Webasto hardtop problems, we haven't heard any updates since maybe late 2021. Was hoping Webasto has made progress since then and 2 door production would increase.

The (#3) 2 door profitability aspect may also affect production of my 2 door BaseSquatch.... I'll guess Ford is less likely to build it vs a BigBend due to the lower profit margin. I haven't given up hope for '23 but chances for a build date are looking slim.

 

[MichiganMichael]

No problem, and thank you !

The webasto issue is, well, it was ongoing. There was actually discussion about bringing the full production process internal on the tops. As in Ford would be fully producing the tops, from molding, assembly, etc. But it's not just quality issues, which were ongoing, but also straight up supply issue. Webasto was having HUGE issues with attendance, employee churn, etc, and their production rates are too low.

As for the profit mix on a 2 door, not much to tell you there, as you can imagine.

 

[mtnbiker]

When was your original reservation date and when was the dealer order date. The private offer is defined by those to the amount you get. If you have an early reservation you might want to convert it to get a higher amount and since it's tied to your name and not order use it for whatever shows up first.

My reservation was placed on 8/6/21 and order placed on 8/13/21. Sadly, I was a 7/15/20 reservation holder, but canceled that when MIC top started having issues (and other 1st year model concerns).

 

[Lowcountry Bronco]

My reservation was placed on 8/6/21 and order placed on 8/13/21. Sadly, I was a 7/15/20 reservation holder, but canceled that when MIC top started having issues (and other 1st year model concerns).

Sounds like you should get column B for price protection by following the flow chart. I know you can't go back but it would have been easier to 99 your early res and waited out the quality issues.

Anyways you should get something from that '21 order to offset '23 price if you're scheduled.

 

[bozmosis]

Unfortunately it's apparently not as easy as that. Apparently the money goes to the dealer and they cut you the check... Still plenty of room for games.

My understanding is there are two options and you need to work it out with the dealer. They will get the check or you can get it directly from Ford. At least that is what they were doing recently. Maybe they changed the process for the private offers. It makes sense to have the dealer include it as you would need to pay taxes on a check from Ford (I believe). I just hate the fact that beyond seeing things on a message board I have to play this game with the dealer.

Edit: Just read the new FAQ. Never mind the gibberish above. Since it is in the Ford FAQ and I can show I had a Wildtrak on order on March 16 of '21, I feel much better knowing I will be expecting $3620 in price protection. Originally I reserved an Outer Banks, which is what had me worried.

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