Dealer Profits Are A Concern
During Ford Motor Co.'s annual meeting, Ford shareholder Gordon Diehl of Setauket, N.Y., told Ford CEO Alan Mulally that he had visited several Ford dealerships in his area and he wasn't impressed.
"Much to my dismay," he said, "the quality of the dealerships ranged anywhere from very poor to mediocre at best, and I was just wondering what you're doing ... to improve the standards of these dealerships."
Mulally said that a key element of the company's plan was to improve the profitability of dealerships by improving the number of sales per store. "It's a very high priority for us," he said. "Our dealer network is tremendous but we have overcapacity."
