The rollout of Ford’s reincarnated Bronco has been far from painless. Since orders began shipping, Bronco owners have been hit with issues ranging from last minute markups to quality-control problems affecting the hard top.
Now, Ford is facing further problems with the launch brought on by its own dealers. Across the US, Ford stores are allegedly creating fake customer registrations to increase their allocation of the popular truck.
According to Ford Authority, dealers or dealer employees could be creating reservations for made up customers or people who have no plan for purchasing a Bronco. The move could bypass Ford’s stock allocation system, generating additional units for the dealer to sell.
To try and combat these shady tactics, Ford has reportedly contacted branches calling for name-matching on all Bronco deliveries.
Officially called the “2021 Bronco Customer Name Match Audit and Integrity Policy Reporting Platform”, the new policy aims to ensure fair distribution of Broncos and allows Ford and its dealers to view customer orders for the car in one place.
Under the policy, dealers will be required to prove that 60% of their Bronco buyers are people who had reserved a Bronco, with Ford monitoring sales each month.
Dealers breaching the new policy face a raft of sanctions, as Ford Authority reports:
“Violating the rules one time will result in a warning while doing so a second time will cause the dealer to lose its future Bronco allocation for one month. Three strikes will lengthen that penalty to three months.”
As well as targeting dealers attempting to swindle the system, the new policy could also prevent customers from using fake names to reserve extra Broncos to sell for a profit.
For anyone waiting to reserve their Bronco, Ford teased the release of a Raptor-branded Bronco earlier this month. The new truck could boast 450 horsepower, Fox shocks and bigger tires, all packed into a wider body.