For more than 100 years, auto manufacturers have used franchisees to distribute their products to consumers. The franchise model provides many benefits to consumers, including inter and intra-brand price competition and ready access to warranty, recall, and general maintenance service. Electric Vehicle (EV)-only manufacturers have long claimed that their EVs must be sold directly to consumers because franchised dealers were either unwilling or unable to sell EVs. In 2021, EV-only manufacturers repeated these claims in legislatures across the country. Their claim ignores the reality at thousands of showrooms across the country and hundreds right here in New Jersey. The fact is franchised dealers currently offer more than 40 models with a plug, and that number will be 140 in the next few years. While many states (including New Jersey) incentivize consumers to purchase an EV, the vehicles continue to sell across the country, as you can see in the chart below, from the U.S. Department of Energy (updated in June 2021). Note that New Jersey sits behind only California, Florida, Texas, Washington, and New York in total EV sales. Wrongly Conflating EV Sales with Direct Sales: By Magdalena Padilla An Effort to Misguide Legislators Across the Country Notes: Only all-electric vehicles (EVs) are included in this chart; plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are not included. Registration counts are approximate. California had approximately 425,300 light-duty electric vehicle registrations in 2020, but the chart is cut off at 60,000 to make it easier to see the other states. Worksheet available at afdc.energy.gov/data Last updated June 2021 Source: Vehicle registration counts derived by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory with data from Experiean Information Solutions 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 1 | 2 0 2 2 18 new jersey auto retailer
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU2MTQwNg==