DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is giving its sellers an additional month to resolve whether or not they’ll agree to speculate as much as $1.2 million and comply with different new requirements the automaker is imposing to allow them to promote electrical autos after subsequent yr.

The Oct. 31 deadline has been pushed again to Dec. 2 after some retailers requested for extra time to decide, in keeping with Ford spokesman Marty Gunsberg.

“We worth our relationship with our sellers and have determined to supply extra time for sellers who haven’t but determined or requested for extra time,” Gunsberg mentioned in a press release.

He declined to say what number of sellers have already opted in, saying Ford will present figures after the enrollment interval ends.

The brand new deadline extra intently aligns with the Dec. 15 deadline Lincoln sellers face for the same program requiring as much as $900 million in funding. Sellers who promote each manufacturers must put money into every program.

The Ford requirements are divided into two tiers with completely different funding ranges in quick chargers and workers coaching. Sellers who select the decrease greenback quantity might be restricted within the variety of EVs they will promote.

Sellers who do not make the upgrades might be restricted to promoting internal-combustion autos and hybrids from the Ford model.

The EV gross sales cap has rankled some state vendor associations, who argue that it violates state legal guidelines. The Virginia Car Sellers Affiliation earlier this month despatched a letter to Ford CEO Jim Farley and different executives asking them to rethink this system and revise the foundations.

Individually, a bunch of automotive commerce affiliation executives, representing associations in Virginia and 11 different southern states, this week requested Ford to “rethink the Ford Mannequin e program as it’s at the moment described,” saying it “contains unreasonable restrictions on vendor autonomy.” Mannequin e is the identify of the EV division that Farley created this yr and oversees as its president.

The brand new gross sales requirements require sellers to set nonnegotiable costs for EVs. Those that select the lower-priced certification tier will not be allowed to hold any EVs in stock, with their prospects having to order precisely what they need for later supply.

Ford has mentioned every of its roughly 3,000 U.S. sellers can select whether or not to decide in to the requirements, and it’ll not drive any to take action.

Sellers who decide in might be licensed to promote EVs from Jan. 1, 2024, till the tip of 2026. Those that do not can have one other alternative to be licensed for EV gross sales beginning in 2027, however once more, will not be required to take action to retain their franchise, officers have mentioned.