Pub. 16 2017-2018 Issue 3
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 N O . 4 , 2 0 1 7 6 new jersey auto retailer Chairman’s MESSAGE | BY ROBERT J. LARSON Selling Alternative Fuel Vehicles From The Dealer’s Perspective NJ CAR is already working to help dealers meet the unique training challenges pre- sented by advanced technology vehicles, by partnering with ChargEVC and Plug In America, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for widespread adoption of electric vehicles. The “eStar” EV Certifi- cation Program, coming to New Jersey in 2018, will provide dealers with enhanced EV training, online tools and promotional support. The goal is to engage dealers AND consumers and address the unique needs of any potential customer conducting their due diligence before pulling the trigger on the decision to purchase an EV. Enhanced EV sales training does NOT take the place of model-specific training. The goal of the eStar Program is to address topics relevant to the overall EV market. I encourage you to read Eric Cahill’s story on Page 22 of this issue of New Jersey Auto Retailer and learnmore about the upcoming eStar Certification Program. The EV market is growing. In the next several years there will be dozens of elec- tric vehicle options available across a wide swath of car and truck models. It may feel like dealers are sometimes on an island by themselves when it comes to selling EVs, but it is critical that we keep educating ourselves about the technology, sharing our knowledge with our customers and working with all the various stakeholders to ensure the EV market continues to grow into the future. There is a myth, echoed by the supporters of Tesla’s direct sales model, that franchised dealerships are unable or unwilling to market and sell “advanced technology” vehicles. Nothing could be further from the truth. For decades, dealers have marketed and sold a wide variety of unique products and technologies, and they do it very well. The fact is that, today, more electric vehicles are sold through franchised dealerships than by any other means. In the last five years alone, franchised dealerships in the U.S. have sold nearly four times as many electric vehicles as Tesla (562,589 compared to 150,336). The problem isn’t that dealers can’t or won’t sell electric vehicles (EVs). The problem is that some dealers can’t get enough EVs, while others are having an inordinate number of EVs forced upon them by their manufacturers, with not nearly enough financial incentives to help move them off the lot and on to New Jersey’s roads. Throughout this issue of New Jersey Auto Retailer, you’ll find a common theme – there needs to be a collective effort from ALL stakeholders (dealers, manufacturers, reg- ulators, elected officials, environmental activists, electric utilities and others) working toward a future where EV sales account for a larger portion of the market. Franchised dealers want to sell vehicles that consumers want to purchase but, as Jim Appleton mentions in his column, manufacturers need to step up and do more — price and equip EVs better, offer rebates or incentives, market the benefits of EV ownership to consumers in a better way, just to name a few suggestions. Government needs to offer incentives to stimulate sales of EVs and must work to build a much more extensive infrastruc- ture that will support the growing number of EVs on the road. It is NOT enough to simply regulate that a certain percentage of the auto retail market must be EVs by a certain date and then do NOTHING to ensure those aggressive goals can be met. Dealers are part of these conversations and it is important that we work with the other stakeholders to do everything we can to grow the EV market. That was one of the motivating factors for NJ CAR to become a founding member of ChargEVC, a broad coalition of business and environmental in- terest groups committed to identifying and addressing obstacles to wider EV adoption. That’s not to say there isn’t more dealers can do on our own to show our com- mitment to maximizing the EV market. Dealers can make a greater effort to ed- ucate customers about the value of EVs, including the financial and environmental benefits. This means that dealers must be committed to providing their employees with ongoing training to ensure they and their staff are comfortable with discussing the latest technologies, which are advancing at a furious pace.
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