Few Auto OEMs Provide Any Help To Dealers To Service, Sell EVs; US Big Three Provide Little/Nothing

[hatrack]

The head of Volkswagen Group of America Inc. recently stood before his dealers and told them he would cover half the costs of getting their facilities ready for electric cars, such as building charging stations. That declaration stood out for its generosity.

Most automakers, including General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., claim to be invested in an electric future but are leaving it to dealers to pay for upgrades that can amount to tens of thousands of dollars. Those investments — charging stations, specialized tools and training for repair people — are essential. The dealership needs to service a vehicle whose battery and design are vast departures from the internal-combustion vehicles they've known for a century.

EDIT

The cue that Scott Keogh, the CEO of Volkswagen of America, gave to his dealers two weeks ago was unambiguous. At the National Automobile Dealers Association meeting in Las Vegas, he pledged that VW would "match the dealers 50 cents to the dollar" for EV investments in their facilities, according to an Automotive News story and confirmed by a VW spokesman.

VW is among a handful of automakers, including Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co., that provide substantial financial help for dealers. The three major U.S. automakers — GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV — provide little to none. VW's first long-range all-electric SUV, dubbed the ID.4, is due to be unveiled in April at the New York International Auto Show. It will initially be made in Europe as the company prepares a new electric factory at its plant in Tennessee.

EDIT

https://www.eenews.net/stories/1062448975

[Voltaire2]

1. Their entire business is based on selling ice vehicles

pivoting to selling EVs is just about impossible.

[TwilightZone]

2. Not really.

GM is being pretty aggressive with development and production of EVs. They sold 200k of them each of the past two years and are ramping up production to a million a year, with 20 different models. In fact, their volume was the reason some tax credits were being phased out.

That's what makes the lack of dealer support really strange.

[Voltaire2]

3. 16,418 bolts in 2019

GM's total ev sales, not yearly, total, is around 189000