By this time next year, sales of the all-new 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E will be underway. You'll probably see at least one driving around your home town. But the Mustang Mach-E is unlike any previous Ford because it was designed, engineered, and built from the ground-up as a pure battery-electric vehicle. The now-discontinued Ford Focus Electric was an electrified version of the regular gasoline Focus. That's all in the past now, but Ford dealerships across America need additional Mustang Mach-E sales training. After all, it's not good when customers know more than salespeople.

The Detroit News reports Ford is currently working to get more than two-thirds of its 3,000 US dealers ready to sell the EV SUV with additional sales and technical training.

Not only do these dealerships need to have knowledgeable staff, but also the right equipment to handle regular maintenance and additional service issues. "This is the first time that we're building a ground-up, all-new battery-electric vehicle," said Jason Mase, Ford's head of electrification marketing strategy. "We've got a lot of dealers that might not have sold high-voltage batteries. When you have a battery-electric versus a full gas or full diesel engine, you're going to have different types of repairs."

Ford declined to state how much dealerships must invest in order to become EV Certified, but it's very much in their interest to do so. In addition to Mustang Mach-E vehicle training, Ford has another huge message for its dealerships: this is not some fad.

Electric vehicles are here to stay and more are coming in the near future. This isn't the first time Ford has had to educate dealers on major new technology. The current generation Ford F-150 has an all-aluminum body that cannot be repaired like its steel-bodied predecessors. Learning to do this also took dealers additional time and money. Fortunately, many Ford dealers already trained their staff in hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles, so moving forward with pure electrification is the clear logical next step.

Technology changes very fast and it can be hard to keep up, but those who do will be better positioned to make more money.