Pub 11 2021 Issue 2

14 AUTOMOBILE DEALER NEWS ILLINOIS www.illinoisdealers.com Direct sales have never once benefited consumers with lower prices, more convenience or better service and maintenance, despite the marketing. And they never will because direct sales are ultimately only about creating a vertical channel for manufacturing, sales and service that allows a single entity to control everything, including prices and margins, to the obvious detriment of consumers. And so, in one fell swoop, America’s Cadillac dealers com- pletely debunked the myth that franchised dealers don’t want to sell and service electric vehicles. Because if this myth were even remotely true, virtually every Cadillac dealer out there would have gladly taken the buy-out and done so in a heartbeat. What’s more, the enthusiasm toward EVs among the fran- chised dealer body is hardly unique to Cadillac. Franchised dealers of other brands with EVs in their lineups have been making these same commitments and investments for years — and not reluctantly. They have done so because they don’t want to lose sales to other brands as more and better EVs — and more EV customers — come to the market. So why does this myth persist? I think it’s simple. EVs still don’t sell in the numbers that environmentalists want, and many groups feel as if they need a boogeyman to blame for f ledging sales. They can’t blame consumers for thus far be- ing cool to zero-emission vehicles because it’s not exactly a winning public relations strategy to blame your customers for the fact that your preferred product isn’t f lying off the shelf. They can’t blame the automakers because there would be precisely no zero-emissions vehicles available for sale, to begin with, without them. Dealers became an easy and con- venient scapegoat. And the myth lingered. However, it’s taken a new and more dangerous life as a lie designed to take down the franchise sys- tem. Rivian, Lucid and Lordstown Motors seem to have hung their entire pitch for direct sales on this lie about franchised dealers and their supposed reluctance and inability to sell EVs. We know that nothing could be further from the truth, but it isn’t hard to unpack why this is their attack line. Direct sales have never once benefited consumers with lower prices, more convenience or better service and maintenance, despite the marketing. And they never will because direct sales are ultimately only about creating a vertical channel for manufacturing, sales and service that allows a single entity to control everything, including prices and margins, to the obvi- ous detriment of consumers. If direct sales were adopted for EVs, then EV buyers — and only EV buyers — would be denied the service network and price competition that ICE-vehicle buyers have enjoyed for decades. Direct sales are not needed for EVs. In fact, over time, direct sales could cripple EV adoption as more and more EV owners are forced to deal with higher prices and the headache of longer and longer wait times for even basic service. But do you know what is needed for sustainable EV sales to consumers up and down the price point chain? A large, expan- sive network of retailers and service providers who are market- ing experts locally, and invested in the future sales and service opportunities that these products promise. Fortunately for automakers, consumers and policymakers alike, that network already exists. Dismantle the big lie about EV sales, and what you are left with is a clear truth: Franchised dealers aren’t an obstacle to EV sales; they are essential to them. 