quote:
General Motors has said it's aiming to produce only EVs by 2035, with 30 new plug-in models arriving by 2025, marking a $27-billion investment. Ford, which previously committed $22 billion to EV development, just announced that 40% of its vehicles will be electrified by 2030. Toyota, Volkswagen, Daimler, Hyundai, Fiat Chrysler, Honda and other automakers are making similar pledges.

In preparation for this onslaught of new models, franchise car dealers in the U.S. — many of them longtime small businesses located in suburban and rural communities — are gearing up. Salespeople are getting ready to put you in an EV today. And because EVs have fewer moving parts, service technicians are being trained to maintain them.

"EVs are the big issue right now," said Mark Paladino, general manager of Colonial Ford in Danbury, Connecticut, and a 40-year veteran in the business. He was still excited about Ford's debut of the F-150 Lightning pickup, an all-electric version of the best-selling vehicle line in the nation for four decades running.

"We were all in right away," Paladino said, adding that the family-owned dealership was previously trained on several gas-electric hybrid models, as well as Ford's first-ever EV, the 2021 Mustang Mach-E SUV, introduced in December. "We see EVs as a part of our business that will only get larger, and we want to be in that world."

One genuine concern for dealers, however, is the fact that EVs don't require oil changes, transmission repairs and other service owners of ICE vehicles routinely bear — and that account for 50% of dealers' gross profits. A 2019 report from AlixPartners estimates that dealers could see $1,300 less revenue in service and parts over the life of each EV they sell.

The service element doesn't necessarily worry Rita Case, CEO of Rick Case Automotive Group in Ft. Lauderdale, which represents VW, Hyundai, Honda, Audi, Mazda and other brands at its dealerships in south Florida and Atlanta. "EVs need tires, brakes, batteries, lights and some steering and drivetrain maintenance," she stated. Rick Case Auto is already selling and servicing a limited number of EVs and hybrids, but "within the last six months we've ramped up EV training for our salespeople and technicians and purchased new charging equipment" in anticipation of increased consumer demand for new electric models, Case said.

I think Ms. Rita could be in for a bit of a shock when it comes to how often EVs need (or don't need) service. Teslas don't even require any scheduled maintenance anymore. I just returned our daily commuter Chevy Bolt after a 3-yr lease and didn't even bring it in once for any kind of service in the 3 years we had it. Brakes on EVs wear much much slower than regular cars as they mostly use regenerative braking to slow down and charge the battery. There are also no transmissions to fix or replace.

A forward thinking dealership will be thinking about how to convert their massive service bays into charging stations and also adding a couple of restaurants and coffee shops for people to hang out while they wait to charge their cars. They might as well try to monetize the real estate they already have. Even McDonald's and other similar chains and large parking garages are thinking of how to leverage their physical assets/parking lots for a EV-first world that's coming in the next couple of decades.

LINK

This post was edited on 6/13/21 at 2:54 pm