Ford to pay customers’ car payments
Ford is adapting to the coronavirus pandemic, offering to pay for three months’ worth of customers’ car payments.
The automaker is also touting that dealers can sell vehicles remotely, including pickup and delivery service in some areas.
Customers who buy new 2019 and 2020 model year vehicles will qualify for the “Built to Lend a Hand” program Ford announced Thursday, which means Ford will pay for three months and customers can defer three months of payments.
“We’re a family business with a 100-plus year legacy of steering through crises all over the world,” said Mark LaNeve, vice president, U.S. marketing, sales and service. “We’ve faced down many kinds of disasters, and we’ll face down this one just the same – taking care of our customers along the way.”
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Ford has already suspended production at all of its North American plants until March 30. All three of the so-called “Big Three” automakers have reported cases of employees infected with COVID-19.
The companies say they will use the downtime to sanitize the facilities and create new plans to resume operations as safely as possible, along with beginning work at home programs for white-collar employees.
The program does not include the 2020 F-Series “Super Duty” truck.