"Car dealers say they can’t sell EVs, tell Biden to slow their rollout" incl. 58 Porsche dealers - Article

[Tooney]

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/1...nt-sell-evs-tell-biden-to-slow-their-rollout/

https://evvoiceofthecustomer.com/<-- contains link to list of 3800 dealers

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[SergeyIndy]

My dealer [not on the list of dealers in the letter, but a nearby Cincinnati dealer is] is crying an ocean having a hard time selling Taycans after making major investments and space swapping to take away from the money growing on lifts servicing ICE models. I certainly benefit a great deal from having a dedicated lift that can swap batteries, now 2 chargers (never used them), and a trained mechanic that works on Taycans. Most importantly, I can get service same day if I need one.

My SA said, poor them, took 2 Taycans to our very popular Christmas market, but he said we need to put some in the loaner fleet to let people just drive them. They have several on the lot, show room, and incoming, and none have buyers. The next slot release is late January, so I understood that they need to sell them by then.

The general sense is that a lot of negative press regarding EVs, specifically low listed EPA range for Taycans, and higher prices are not getting customers to bite locally. Although, he also said this new Cayenne redesign is not finding buyers either. I told them, wait until end year bonuses come in for Eli Lilly, since they are killing it, you will have an empty lot. A lot of buyers just walk in on Dec 31 and get a car.

 

[PNWTaycan4S]

Porsche has loaded the dealerships with zillions of base 2-wheel drive Taycans, now sitting on their lots in big numbers. Clearly a serious market miscalculation, perhaps driven by the need to hit a corporate average fuel economy. I'm guessing you could get a pretty good discount on those.

At the same time the models in demand like the GTS, Sport Turismo, Cross Turismo, and even 4S, Turbo, and Turbo S have been few and far between.

The dealers are likely really making a stink because they make their money on repairing fossil cars and due to the threat of direct online manufacturer purchasing, as with Tesla and Polestar.

 

[Torv]

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/1...nt-sell-evs-tell-biden-to-slow-their-rollout/

https://evvoiceofthecustomer.com/<-- contains link to list of 3800 dealers

Yeah, I read those articles and frankly I don’t buy the collective dealer whine because they're simply perpetuating their preconceived notions through ignorance and sloth.

The bottom line as far as I’m concerned is that the dealers and their sales staff, Porsche dealers included, don’t know shit-from-shinola about EV technologies and the supporting charging infrastructure. My personal experience bears this out as I knew far more about the Taycan and its technology than the the sales guy.

For the most part, dealers and their staff are willfully ignorant and resistant to adapt to new technologies. In other words, they're lazy and unwilling to taking the steps and devote the time to learn about EVs. They don't sell EVs because it's a self-fulfilling prophecy reinforced by myth and ignorance.

This article pretty much sums things up nicely:

https://electrek.co/2023/11/29/car-...-customers-push-slower-electric-car-adoption/

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