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Why Car Salesmen Don't Want To Sell Electric Cars
HughPickens.com writes: Matt Richtel writes in the NYT that one big reason there are only about 330,000 electric vehicles on the road is that car dealers show little enthusiasm for putting consumers into electric cars. Industry insiders say that electric vehicles do not offer dealers the same profits as gas-powered cars, they take more time to sell because of the explaining required, and electric vehicles may require less maintenance, undermining the biggest source of dealer profits — their service departments. Some electric car buyers have said they felt as if they were the ones doing the selling. Chelsea Dell made an appointment to test-drive a used Volt but when she arrived, she said, a salesman told her that the car hadn't been washed, and that he had instead readied a less expensive, gas-powered car. "I was ready to pull the trigger, and they were trying to muscle me into a Chevy Sonic," says Dell. "The thing I was baffled at was that the Volt was a lot more expensive." Marc Deutsch, Nissan's business development manager for electric vehicles says some salespeople just can't rationalize the time it takes to sell the cars. A salesperson "can sell two gas burners in less than it takes to sell a Leaf," Deutsch says. "It's a lot of work for a little pay."
Jared Allen says that service is crucial to dealer profits and that dealers didn't want to push consumers into electric cars that might make them less inclined to return for service. Maybe that helps explains the experience of Robert Kast, who last year leased a Volkswagen e-Golf from a local dealer. He said the salesman offered him a $15-per-month maintenance package that included service for oil changes, belt repair and water pumps. "I said: 'You know it doesn't have any of those things,'" Mr. Kast recalled. He said the salesman excused himself to go confirm this with his manager. Of the whole experience, Mr. Kast, 61, said: "I knew a whole lot more about the car than anyone in the building." "Until selling a plug-in electric car is as quick and easy as selling any other vehicle that nets the dealer the same profit, many dealers will avoid them, for very logical and understandable reasons," says John Voelker. "That means that the appropriate question should be directed to makers of electric cars: What are you doing to make selling electric cars as profitable and painless for your dealers as selling gasoline or diesel vehicles?"
Jared Allen says that service is crucial to dealer profits and that dealers didn't want to push consumers into electric cars that might make them less inclined to return for service. Maybe that helps explains the experience of Robert Kast, who last year leased a Volkswagen e-Golf from a local dealer. He said the salesman offered him a $15-per-month maintenance package that included service for oil changes, belt repair and water pumps. "I said: 'You know it doesn't have any of those things,'" Mr. Kast recalled. He said the salesman excused himself to go confirm this with his manager. Of the whole experience, Mr. Kast, 61, said: "I knew a whole lot more about the car than anyone in the building." "Until selling a plug-in electric car is as quick and easy as selling any other vehicle that nets the dealer the same profit, many dealers will avoid them, for very logical and understandable reasons," says John Voelker. "That means that the appropriate question should be directed to makers of electric cars: What are you doing to make selling electric cars as profitable and painless for your dealers as selling gasoline or diesel vehicles?"
If dealers don't want to sell them, let manufacturers sell direct to the customers.
Tell em what you want, they tell you how much it costs and when and where you can pick it up.
The takeway I get is that Tesla's attempts to sell directly and avoid dealers makes complete sense because dealers have a clear conflict of interest here. Heck, it makes it seem like we should get rid of dealers altogether since they won't in general want to sell any cars that are very novel or that require substantially less maintenance.
I find dealerships very annoying because they don't want to sell you the car you want, they want to sell you one of the cars they have on the lot that day! Apparently their goal with every customer is to have them buy something the same day, not come back later to pick up the actual vehicle they wanted. Why can't I order a vehicle with everything I want from the manufacturer, and go pick it up at the plant or port of entry myself, saving the $800 in "destination fees"?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
If you were to ask me what I like most about electric cars (and Tesla in particular), it wouldn't be the economic or environmental benefits, or even the technology.
It's the way they are taking a long stagnant and mostly non-innovative industry and dragging it kicking and screaming into the 21st century. If the people who constantly preach about the free market truly appreciated the concept, they would know that in a legitimately free market, you either change with the times or you get kicked to the curb to make room for those who are actually innovating.
The more they resist, the more I'm going to enjoy watching them weep and wail as they slowly become irrelevant.
A better question. Just why is it so profitable to sell gas powered cars?
You totally misunderstand the value of forcing all oil to be sold in dollars. Since the world runs on oil, and countries must purchase oil in dollars, the countries of the world must keep a large reserve of dollars. This increases the value of the dollar, allowing us to offset by printing more without inflation. Fighting wars over oil is a very real thing. You just don't understand the mechanism of how this works obviously.
you think Kia wants to open up their own showrooms at malls across america? I assure you not.
Hey, if Kia doesn't want to sell directly to me - Tesla does. I have no problem with both business models competing with one another.
I do, however, have a problem with needing to deal with middle-men because of protectionist laws that forbid companies like Tesla from selling directly to me. But hey, YMMV, right?