Pub. 20 2021-2022 Issue 2

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S I S S U E 2 | 2 0 2 1 12 new jersey auto retailer NJ CAR has long made the case that New Jersey’s neighborhood new car and truck dealerships are much better equipped to lead the electric vehicle (EV) revolution currently underway. Sure, Tesla made EVs sexy, but they offer four models in a handful of colors. Franchised dealers currently offer more than 40 battery and plug-in hybrid models in every shape and size and at virtually every price point. At the rate new announcements are making the headlines, that number could increase to 140 models in just a few years. NADA is now taking up the EV mantle, with a blog post recently authored by Mike Stanton, NADA President and CEO, entitled “ Dealers Are Essential to Broader EV Adoption .” Below is a shortened version of the story, but I encourage everyone to read the complete story at https://blog.nada.org/. Dealers Are Essential To Broader Electric Vehicle Adoption Earlier this year, when Ford unveiled the F-150 Lightning, it ushered in a new – and long overdue – era of battery-electric vehicles built not to fill niches within the American car market but for the bulk of it. This unveiling was a watershed moment in automotive history. That’s because the F-150 Lightning is far more than just a truck. And it’s more than just an electric truck. It’s the vanguard of a wave of vehicles that can finally bridge the gap between the battery-electric vehicles we have now and the BEVs that can truly make an impact on our climate over the long-term by appealing to the vast majority of American car and truck buyers. Franchised dealers have been waiting for this moment for years. Dealers are “all in” on EVs and incredibly excited about the new electrified products being announced almost daily. And dealers are hungry for the sales and service opportunities that are going to come with having numerous new EV models to sell. And while today’s EVs are exceptional, the reality is that many of them appeal to supporters of reducing greenhouse gas emissions or luxury vehicle buyers who want cutting-edge technology and performance. One of the great mistakes we make in assessing our progress on converting America’s f leet to electric is assuming that today’s EV buyers will look like the EV buyers of tomorrow. This simply isn’t true. It is undisputed that Tesla has been extremely successful at selling its products. But does Tesla’s success prove that you can sell EVs in great quantities in America? Does it reveal the path to the mass adoption of EVs? The short answer is a resounding “NO!” Tesla has proven you can successfully sell Teslas to a certain small subset of the car-buying public. To date, American EV buyers are vastly different from ICE-vehicle buyers. In particular, EV buyers are typically much wealthier, much better informed about EVs and are acquiring their third, fourth or fifth car. Not only are America’s current EV buyers willing to pay full list price, but many of them also wear it as a badge of honor that they’ve done so. They know exactly what they want, so they don’t need to talk to a salesperson, either about the car or about financing. And because they tend to have multiple vehicles in their personal or family f leet, they are much more likely to be willing to wait for delivery, live with range limitations, live with the time and planning it takes to recharge, and deal with service delays. But this buyer type is not likely to dominate the EV market over the coming years. Why? Because the vehicles are changing. And as the EV market moves further into the mainstream, its customers will come to resemble the average car buyer more and more. NADA Director’s MESSAGE | BY RICHARD A. DESILVA, SR. Dealers Are Essential to Broader EV Adoption