Lectrium joins The Shop, powered by Ford Direct as a featured vendor. The Full Story!
Peter Barba
on
March 17, 2026
Electrified Merchandising
Product News

Lectrium has been accepted into The Shop, giving Ford Motor Company and Lincoln dealerships direct access to its Electrified Merchandising Platform to help educate shoppers and sell EVs, PHEVs, and hybrids more effectively. The announcement comes as Ford, led by CEO Jim Farley, pursues a pragmatic electrification strategy that scales hybrids today while developing affordable EVs through its new UEV platform targeting roughly $30,000 vehicles later this decade. ⚡🚗
Lectrium joins The Shop, powered by Ford Direct as a featured vendor. The Full Story!
Few automakers carry the legacy and momentum of Ford, a company that has repeatedly reshaped the industry from the Model T assembly line to today’s push into hybrids, EVs, and affordable electrification for the mass market. 🚗⚡
Lectrium has long been interested in finding a scalable way to serve Ford dealers across the USA, and we’ve been working for years to reach this point!
From our time traveling to Detroit’s Michigan Central and meeting the Ford Direct team and Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford in March of 2025 through today, our team is working to help Ford dealerships sell more EVs and Hybrids, faster. We are very in-tune with Ford’s electrification strategy in the short-term and long-term as evidenced by our listing in The Shop.
Jim Farley didn't blink when he told the industry what most were thinking but few were saying: the road to mass electrification runs through hybrids and more affordable EVs. And for the dealers sitting at the center of that shift, Lectrium is now officially there with them, inside Ford Direct's The Shop.
FORD’s Electrification path
For the past few years, Ford's CEO Jim Farley has been making one of the more interesting pivots in modern automotive history. Not away from electrification, but toward a more realistic version of it. His message is refreshingly blunt: consumers want the benefits of electrification. They're just not ready to abandon familiar habits overnight. Hybrids, PHEVs, and extended-range vehicles are the bridge which Ford is building hard.
"We should stop talking about it as transitional technology."
— Jim Farley on hybrids
Farley's strategy is grounded in financial reality. Ford is investing in a brand-new Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform, which is a clean-sheet architecture engineered to bring EVs to a ~$30,000 price point by 2027. The design strips out 20% of parts, cuts fasteners by 25%, and reduces manufacturing steps by up to 40%. The goal: make EVs that everyday families can actually afford, while hybrids carry the volume today.
From a dealer perspective, the Ford Mustang Mach‑E is generally viewed as an important halo EV for the brand, but one that has faced uneven demand and higher inventory levels compared with Ford’s trucks and hybrids, leading many dealerships to rely on incentives and price adjustments to move units.
⚡ DEALER ELECTRIFICATION PLAYBOOK NOW
Ford isn't choosing between EVs and hybrids — it's sequencing them strategically. Hybrids and PHEVs are scaling fast across the lineup as proven, profitable volume drivers. Extended-range and fully electric vehicles are being built for affordability on the new UEV platform, targeting mainstream price points. Meanwhile, Ford's dealer network sits at the intersection. The front line where shopper education, trust, and clarity win or lose the sale.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT 🎉
Lectrium Joins The Shop, Powered by Ford Direct
Lectrium has officially been accepted into The Shop, Ford Direct's curated marketplace of trusted technology solutions for Ford and Lincoln dealerships across the country. Starting today, Ford and Lincoln retailers can access Lectrium's Electrified Merchandising Platform directly through the program to upgrade how they sell EVs, PHEVs, and Hybrids (new and used).
This is more than a badge. The Shop puts Lectrium in front of the exact dealers who are navigating Ford's most ambitious product lineup in decades. Dealers who need to explain hybrid drivetrains to a curious mom, walk a contractor through PHEV charging on a job site, or help a commuter map out real-world range on a Mach-E. Lectrium exists to educate digital shoppers and shoppers in the showroom alike.
WHAT LECTRIUM DOES FOR FORD DEALERS
🗺️ Real-Range Visualization: VIN-specific interactive maps showing realistic driving range from a shopper's home or work address.
🔌 Charging Made Simple: Level 1 vs. Level 2 explained clearly. Plug types, charging plans, and home setup guidance — right on the VDP.
💰 Ownership Savings: Fuel cost comparisons and true ownership value calculations that make the financial case for going electrified.
📊 Sales & BDC Reports: Personalized Electrified Vehicle Reports for follow-up — giving your team VIN-level answers in seconds.
📈 GA4 + CRM Integration: Electrified shopper intent flows directly into your CRM and marketing dashboards with real attribution data.
🧩 Plug-and-Play Deployment: Compatible with Dealer.com, Dealer Inspire, DealerOn, Motive, and more. Inventory feed agnostic.
The proof is already showing up in the numbers. In a pilot study conducted with a control group, dealers using Lectrium generated 38% more leads on electrified inventory compared to dealers without the platform. More leads, better-informed shoppers, and sales teams that can actually keep up with the questions walking through the door.
"Ford dealers hold such a legacy in the USA, and I admire their entrepreneurial spirit. Lectrium and I are lucky to serve these dealers as they navigate the transition to selling electrified vehicles over time, and we are here to ensure these dealers remain successful while doing so” - Peter Barba, Lectrium CEO.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Farley put it plainly: "You have to have great cost fitness and quality fitness to even have the right to compete." That pressure doesn't just apply to Ford's factories on the global scale competing against Chinese EVs, it applies to every dealer trying to convert an electrified shopper into a sold unit. The dealers who invest in clearer communication, sharper digital experiences, and better-equipped sales floors are the ones who'll hold the line as the lineup evolves.
Lectrium is now live for Ford dealers in The Shop. And we're just getting started.
Available Now through The Shop
www.lectrium.com · peter@lectrium.com
Lectrium · Electrified Merchandising Platform · 39 U.S. States · 6 OEM Programs
#ElectrifiedRetail #FordDirect #TheShop #EVSales #HybridVehicles #Lectrium #DealerTech #Automotive
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