Dealers caught in middle of EV transition, panel says
Panelist Damon Lester, owner of Lester Automotive Group in Bowie, Md., echoed Maher’s concerns. Using an EV every day is not possible without charging infrastructure, he said.
“We urge consumers to ask those types of questions because many are not looking at EV ownership through that lens,” he said.
Panelists identified range anxiety, education and regional climate concerns as key barriers to EV adoption. Those barriers present challenges for national policy such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which introduced tax incentives to spur EV adoption sooner rather than later, they said.
Affordability of EVs is another key consumer concern, panelists said. Dealers are at a disadvantage, Lester said, because Elon Musk can push Tesla price cuts through instantly, which is not an option for the dealer body.
His proposed solution is to expand the availability of incentives.
“We are urging some legislators to put a moratorium on the income-based formula for incentives, to make it open again for a certain period of time so that everyone is able to get them,” Lester said.
Only consumers who make less than $150,000 and households that make less than $300,000 are eligible for the up to $7,500 tax credit on North American-assembled new EVs.
