If Dealers Don't Want To Sell EVs, Let Manufacturers Sell Them Direct To Consumers

Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty (Getty Images)

A lot of car dealers don’t have much interest in selling EVs; some are politically opposed to the idea on its face, some just don’t want to make the massive investment their brands are demanding to update their stores to EV readiness and some are just philosophically opposed to learning anything about products and would rather lose a sale than look anything up. (None of this applies to my guy Gage at Betten Baker Honda, he took great care of my Mom and her new CR-V last week. Shoutout to Gage!)

Ford Wants to Sell EVs Online

Two-thirds of car dealers don’t have any EVs on their lots, new or used, according to a Sierra Club survey of dealers earlier this year. And it’s not supply chain issues—45 percent said they would not sell EVs even if there were loads of them available to sell. Their resistance may seem unreasonable, but car dealers do have a point: If consumers in their areas don’t want EVs, why should they be burdened with the task of trying to sell them. Instead, states should allow manufacturers to sell EVs direct to consumers. If they won’t, the federal government should override the hodgepodge of state laws that make dealers a necessary part of the car sales equation.

Broad change won’t happen without a lot of screaming. If you look at the donors in any local political race, you’ll find car dealers and liquor distributors giving lots of money. They do that because if it were legal for car companies to sell directly to consumers, a lot of companies would probably do it. Dealers exist as a kind of government-mandated middle man, like liquor-distributors and cable companies. If you’ve ever wondered why every person in America seems to pay for cable/internet from a company they hate, it’s because cable companies pay legislators to limit competition in your area.

But, Tesla and other EV-only car companies have already been given special dispensation to sell cars directly in about half of U.S. states and before that Tesla skirted dealership laws without facing any real consequences. Seven states currently make exceptions to dealership requirements for individual EV companies. Tesla owners will tell you that buying a car online without suffering through hours of dealer rigamarole is one of the best parts of owning a Tesla and I believe them. It’s time to level the playing field and let all automakers sell electric vehicles directly to consumers.