In February 2021, NJ CAR launched an ambitious campaign to promote the franchise system’s many benefits to New Jersey consumers, the local communities they serve, and the 37,000 men and women who rely on the industry for their livelihoods. It began with a video brochure produced by NJ CAR and sent to every New Jersey legislature member, the Governor’s office and key state agency personnel. This effort’s timing couldn’t have been better, with all 120 members of the state legislature and the Governor up for reelection in November.

The brochure highlighted how franchised dealerships create fierce price competition and prevent manufacturer monopolies; protect consumer safety by offering independent safety recall, warranty and repair service; generate good-paying local jobs, tax revenues and economic benefits; and simplify the complex car purchasing and registration process. The video in the brochure explained that factory-direct sales are nothing but an attempt to monopolize the electric vehicle market, eliminate competition and limit consumer access to independent warranty and safety recall service.

The video brochure’s rollout was followed by a very successful two-month digital and social media campaign with similar messaging. We sponsored email newsletters or other content for two weeks each on Politico.com, nj.com, New Jersey Globe and Insider NJ, resulting in our static ad being viewed by more than 660,000 individuals. Additionally, we ran an eight-week campaign on Facebook that generated another 658,000 impressions. That’s more than 1.3 million impressions over two months.

NJ CAR staff and dozens of dealers have also participated in Zoom calls with many legislators in the past few months, with more scheduled throughout April. These meetings have been a great way for dealers to directly engage with key legislators on both sides of the aisle.

All of this activity is part of the coalition’s effort to keep our message in front of the state’s decision-makers and get out ahead of the “direct sale” initiative we’ve seen promoted by Wall Street and Silicon Valley companies like Tesla, Rivian and others around the country. Even some of the legacy automakers have made comments supporting direct factory sales of EVs and autonomous vehicles.

Direct sale advocates argue their business model is more efficient and that existing neighborhood new car dealers are either unable or unwilling to sell electric vehicles. These are lies aimed at disguising the direct sale effort’s true purpose — limiting competition, restricting consumer access to valuable warranty and safety recall service, and replacing locally owned and accountable Main Street entrepreneurs with distant Wall Street and Silicon Valley players. None of this benefits New Jersey consumers, and that is the message we are delivering to the state’s decision-makers.

I encourage you to visit the Consumer Benefits of the Motor Vehicle Franchise System page on the NJ CAR website
(njcar.org/consumer-benefits-of-the-motor-vehicle-franchise-system/). Read about the benefits, watch the video and feel free to share it on your social media channels. We can extend the shelf-life of this important message and encourage local legislators and others to continue supporting the franchise system of independent new car dealerships and keep the economic benefits of this $37 billion per year industry right here in New Jersey.