Shulou(Shulou.com)12/24 Report--

December 11, car dealers in many parts of the United States said that the sales of electric vehicles are becoming more and more difficult because consumers are worried about the mileage, reliability and price of electric vehicles.

Paul LaRochelle, vice president of SheehyAuto Stores, was excited about his business prospects when he heard that Ford was about to launch an electric pickup truck.

"We thought we could produce 1 million of these cars and sell them," says Mr La Rochelle. " Sheila Auto Store sells more than a dozen car brands with operations in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D. C.

However, the actual situation is not so optimistic. La Rochelle says the inventory of electric cars in the company's parking lot can last for six to 12 months, while gasoline cars can only be sold out in a month.

Carmakers plan to launch a large number of new electric cars in the coming years. But with many consumers still reluctant to replace electric vehicles, car dealers are increasingly worried about whether the technology will be attractive enough.

Car dealers say inventories of pure electric vehicles have been overstocked as growth in US electric vehicle sales slows this year. While carmakers have been stimulating demand through preferential policies such as discounts and low-interest-rate car loans, car dealers say this is not enough because consumers are worried about more than just prices.

"I don't hear consumer confidence in this technology," said Mary Rice, head of Toyota dealerships in Greensboro, North Carolina. "people don't buy these cars yet. they all have different excuses not to buy them."

Car dealers say consumers are either worried about electric cars running out of power more quickly in cold weather or about the mileage of a single charge. Others worry that charging piles are not as popular as gas stations and are more likely to break down.

Many car brand franchisees worry that manufacturers' constant introduction of new electric models will increase the number of cars in stock. There are 56 electric vehicles sold in the US this year, and that number is expected to nearly double to 100 next year, according to market research firm Sipp Global Mobility.

"I'm starting to think, you know, maybe all of us should slow down," Rice said. "

In a letter to US President Joe Biden last month, a group of dealers expressed their concern about how the US government is promoting the electric vehicle business.

A Toyota spokesman said most dealers were "increasingly confident in their ability to sell Toyota electric vehicles".

A Ford spokesman said sales of electric vehicles such as Fmurl 150 Lightning electric pickup trucks are rising, but demand is uneven across the country.

Car dealers say that after selling an electric car, they sometimes hear complaints about charging and that the car does not reach its advertised mileage. In some cases, the buyer asked to return the car shortly after picking up the car.

"A considerable number of our customers want to return their cars," said La Rochelle of Sheila Motor Store. "

Although electric vehicles are small and growing rapidly in the new car market in previous years, the growth rate has slowed this year compared with the same period last year. Electric vehicle sales rose 48 per cent in the first 11 months of this year, compared with 69 per cent in the same period in 2022, according to market research firm Motor Intelligence. Sales of electric vehicles are still concentrated in a few states, with California being the biggest, according to Snapp Global Mobility.

The cooling growth of electric vehicles has raised concerns about whether carmakers are facing temporary obstacles or long-term demand challenges. Automakers have invested tens of billions of dollars to bring more electric vehicles to market. Many analysts and auto industry executives say they remain optimistic that sales of electric vehicles will continue to grow.

"despite the recent slowdown in growth, it is clear that demand for electric vehicles is moving in the right direction," Mary Barra, GM chief executive, said on a recent earnings call. More affordable models and better charging infrastructure will help spur more consumers to buy electric cars, she said.

Dealers also have different views on how quickly buyers can accept the technology. In popular areas such as Los Angeles, dealers say pure electric cars are the best-selling models. Many electric car markets that are popular with consumers also tend to have more mature public charging networks.

But it has also proved more difficult to sell electric cars outside these markets.

Carmella Roehrig, who has been using an electric car for a long time, thought she was ready and sold another gasoline car. But last year, the 62-year-old North Carolina resident was trapped in a remote area of South Carolina and then changed his mind. Tesla Model S, driven by Luo Lig, had a flat tire, but none of the local shops had Tesla tires. Finally, she paid the staff of a nearby store to tow the car home.

Luo Lig still kept her Tesla, but bought an oil-burning pickup truck for a long road trip.

Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment.

"I talked to some people who said we would all use electric cars in 15 years. I said,'I'm not sure. I've already tried,'" Rodrigo said. "I think you still need a car."

MickeyAnderson, president of BaxterAuto Group, which operates car dealerships in Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado, says customers who want to abandon gasoline cars for environmental reasons sometimes hesitate.

"We have a business in Colorado Springs. If this is your only means of transportation, and the altitude and temperature in the area are extreme, then the actual mileage of electric cars is very limited." Anderson said. "it makes it extremely impractical."

In November, about 4000 car dealers across the United States signed a joint letter to President Joe Biden, saying that the U.S. government's proposed emissions regulations aimed at promoting the sale of electric vehicles are impractical. The letter was signed by family businesses as well as listed giants such as AutoNation and Lithia Motors.

"there are customers in the electric car market, and we are happy to sell electric cars," the letter said. but most customers are not ready to make a change at all. "

Some carmakers are delaying plans to launch electric cars. In mid-October, GM said it would delay the opening of its electric pickup factory by a year to the end of 2025. In response to lower-than-expected consumer demand, Ford said at the end of October that it would postpone its $12 billion investment plan for electric vehicles.

Since September, it has taken car dealers an average of more than two months to sell an electric car, compared with an average of 40 days for all cars in the United States, according to Edmunds, a car sales website.

Car dealers say that while discounts help boost sales of some electric cars, they also have an impact on owners of electric cars of the same brand because discounts reduce the value of their cars.

"most people have no confidence in buying an electric car and don't know its value in 10 to 15 years," Toyota dealer Condoleezza Rice said.

La Rochelle of Sheila Motor Store says it may take some time for the industry to adjust because it is still in the early stages of a shift to electric cars. "We want the market to grow naturally," he said. "

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