Dealers will cry about their inventory while refusing to budge on various “market adjustments”.
Boo hoo. Be competitive and watch the inventory flow.
Car dealers say they can’t sell EVs, tell Biden to slow their rollout
Submitted 1 year ago by boem@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
BobaFuttbucker@reddthat.com 1 year ago
CmdrShepard@lemmy.one 1 year ago
I’ve been eyeing an Ioniq 5 for about 18 months now and just checked local pricing again and they haven’t budged an inch on pricing (even now with 2024 models being sold with 2023 models left on the lot) nor are they even carrying inventory outside of the most expensive trim packages of Limited AWD. I’m interested in range, so I’m wanting a Limited RWD but they aren’t being stocked.
This article screams “I’m not doing my job and it’s all your fault!”
cantstopthesignal@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
There’s a 2008 style crash coming in the credit market for cars. There’s a lot of subprime loans and a lot of car companies that got into financing that shouldn’t have. Wait til they really get squeezed. Who am I kidding tho, they will just ask for a bail out.
altima_neo@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
The dealer near me has added an extra 5 grand for market adjustment too.
Yaztromo@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Meanwhile, up here in Canada I put a down payment on an IONIQ 5 Ultimate Edition (Canadian equivalent of the US ‘Limited’ model) back in early April 2022, and it still hasn’t been ordered, because Hyundai decided to flood the US market while stiffing the Canadian market.
Hyundai (and other EV makers) are fucking around, and then blaming the market.
ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 1 year ago
Issue is the dealership deals made with the auto manufacturers. Inventory on hand is often times (not including some of that bs that had dealerships marking stuff way over msrp) only set up to make the dealership a few thousand in profits.
For any major price reductions that are really needed, the auto manufacturers would have to be giving the vehicles to the dealerships for less money.
In other words, ford will have to drop prices for dealerships to drop prices.
JustZ@lemmy.world 1 year ago
This is bananas to me. The new model is out but last year’s model isn’t discounted? No wonder nobody likes dar dealers.
partial_accumen@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Goferking0@ttrpg.network 1 year ago
Saw one dealer do that to a Honda civic r then brag they got someone to actually pay it
fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Shit dealers (and especially the sales people) tend to not at all be trained on how to sell these cars, and can be openly hostile towards people interested in them. EVs don’t make them as much money on service.
Usernameblankface@lemmy.world 1 year ago
They can be trained all day every day, but if they know their profits are lower they’ll do anything they can to avoid having to work with EVs.
Nougat@kbin.social 1 year ago
New car sales people do not give a single fuck about whether the car comes back for service. They get paid for selling cars, full stop. It's possible that management is making ICE car sales commissions higher than EV; that would create an incentive to push ICE.
altima_neo@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
They’ll also haul to mention that it’s the fastest growing new car segment. They may not me moving as many as they want, but they’re definitely moving.
SharkAttak@kbin.social 1 year ago
Yeah, smthg smthg capitalism, smthg smthg free market, amirite?
Maeve@kbin.social 1 year ago
Don’t forget “too big to fail.”
hh93@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I don’t know how it is in the us but here in Germany many (single-brand-)dealers are also licensed mechanics (for that brand) - and since EVs are taking much less repairing than traditional cars they are basically shooting themselves in the foot by selling them
qooqie@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Straight up don’t give a single fuck what car dealers want. If they could all go out of business I’d be a happier person
LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Hi you pulled your car in, nothing is actually wrong with it but we looked at it from a distance and you need new air filters. That will be $375. I can make you a good price, I got it down to $373 because you’re a good money bag, I mean client.
drphungky@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Oh no! But won’t someone think about what the rent-seekers need? They worked hard for years to capture government regulation allowing them to be not only middle-men, but the only middle men allowed! How can they be expected to turn around and do what the government asks? This is a travesty!
SuperSaiyanSwag@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
I have hated every single car dealer I have dealt with, even my high school friend, but somehow my Nissan dealer was such a nice guy. He never found anything extra and always gave the straight forward solution, I only worked with him maybe 4 times for the 5 years I owned the car, but my bill was always <$100.
QuandaleDingle@lemmy.world 1 year ago
With 30% markups? No, you cannot.
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 year ago
Car Dealers: But what about my cut for bringing absolutely nothing to the table except being a con-man??
Bell@lemmy.world 1 year ago
EVs require much less maintenance…dealers make much of their money from… maintenance! So they mark up the sale price to compensate for their lost revenue.
The solution is selling cars without dealerships, but our helpful state legislatures have made that illegal in many states.
Exusia@lemmy.world 1 year ago
And you need a safe place to charge it. Like a garage. I can’t afford a house so why would I buy a Nissan leaf (any cheap ev)? I can’t just run an extention cord out an open window. I also can’t just leave a wireless geoud pad charger plugged in unattended outside. It’s all linked, nothing happens in a bubble.
AA5B@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I don’t know about other chargers but my Tesla charger is designed for outside use and can be configured to only allow my car to charge
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Other wires come in and out of your house. It’s not hard to drill a hole and insulate it.
wmassingham@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I can’t just run an extention cord out an open window.
This is exactly what my neighbor does in his apartment.
But he has a driveway, so it’s not like he’s running it over the sidewalk or anything.
KISSmyOS@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I smell a solution here: Dealers can offer free charging on their lot (plus optionally a mobile charging service that comes to you) for a monthly fee.
That way, you have a spot to charge in your city that’s never taken, and dealers can make the money they used to make on maintenance, therefore giving them the incentive to actually sell EVs.RushingSquirrel@lemm.ee 1 year ago
With decent range, you can charge once or twice a week at a fast charger (while doing groceries or posting video games) or there are public chargers every couple of blocks. No need for a home charger (though it’s definitely more convenient).
Rooskie91@discuss.online 1 year ago
I don’t think this is what you meant, but you can charge an EV using a conventional wall outlet.They even have adapters that will allow you to plug it into a 240v outlet (like for a dryer or oven). I’m not saying this makes them more accessible, I still think the upfront cost of owning an EV is too high, but it is possible.,
Dontfearthereaper123@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Why can’t you run an extension cord out an open window? Do u not have windows or something
frezik@midwest.social 1 year ago
Maybe roll out some models people can afford? It’s all SUVs that start around $45k, but they built only a few of those base models. The ones actually available are premium trims that go for $65k and might peak around $100k. They were able to sell out for 6 months, and then that market was saturated. Now they stand around asking why nobody buys their cars.
JiveTurkey@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Also maybe don’t make me buy a car through a dealership. Why can’t I just order and car and it gets delivered to my house instead of making me pick it up from a dealer that gets to charge whatever they want for being a middle man on top of the cars already being too expensive.
frezik@midwest.social 1 year ago
Laws have to change for direct sales of cars, mostly at the state level. Dealership owners also happen to be big donors to state elected officials.
Aux@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Dealerships in the US are a cartel backed by the government. Multiple states have laws banning direct sales - …m.wikipedia.org/…/Tesla_US_dealership_disputes
LeafOnTheWind@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I would like an electric car next, but I live in an apartment where I couldn’t charge it.
lolcatnip@reddthat.com 1 year ago
Huh? There are a ton of small EVs that are much cheaper than that. The Nissan Leaf, for example.
FrankTheHealer@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I think a lot of dealerships in the US won’t have Nissan Leafs since they are too cheap and therefore, the profit margin is thinner.
If they had space for 500 cars that they want to sell over a few months, and they were all going to be EVs, they’d want all 500 spaces to be Audi e-trons, Mercedes EQS’ and Cadillac Lyrics, because those cars are worth more. Thing is now, people don’t want to pay that much for an electric if they are on the fence about trusting the tech or getting used to charging etc. So there’s a sales slump. Dealers are sitting on a ton of mid to high end and are looking to blame anyone but themselves for the slowdown in sales.
Just my thoughts on the situation anyway.
Virulent@reddthat.com 1 year ago
Nissan leaf, Chevy bolt (which won’t be sold next year) and…??? Everything else is at least 35k starting.
banneryear1868@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Nissan Leaf is 41k MSRP in Canada, I’ve never paid over 14k for a vehicle. Willing to go in to 20s for an EV because of the gas savings though.
I had saved for an EV for my last vehicle purchase but then the pandemic hit and I started working from home, was driving very little, and I instead used that money to improve the efficiency of my home and upgrade the furnace to heat pump, replace some windows, etc. The amount of ghg’s offset just from not using propane to heat my home vastly outweighs the amount I’d offset with an electric vehicle. I think people need to think about what makes sense for them, an EV is a luxury purchase, but if you’re lucky enough to own a home then there may be better uses for that money.
So instead of a nice 50k EV I bought a Fit off someone for 8k, then I bought a $900 shitbox Fit for parts. Costs $70/mo in insurance and I put about the same in gas per month. I will likely improve my home’s efficiency further if driving habits remain infrequent rather than buy a product like a car.
frezik@midwest.social 1 year ago
I’m holding out for a proper hot hatch. Something like a VW Golf or Mazda3. Leaf is a bit too small.
cyborganism@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Oh man I would love an affordable Honda e in North America. I’ve seen them in Europe. What a nice little car.
Aux@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Move to Europe! And get free medicine as a bonus.
athos77@kbin.social 1 year ago
Well, maybe if the price of cars wasn't so fucking high, they'd be able to sell more of them. But nope, corps gotta get those record profits in, while underpaying every single [non-executive] worker.
CmdrShepard@lemmy.one 1 year ago
Seems telling that they stated they’re having 100-200% employee turnover. Those are insane numbers.
AbidanYre@lemmy.world 1 year ago
But are they “we’re going to run out of workers” bad?
5BC2E7@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I don’t see any problem with removig car dealers. Just phase out of existence no one will miss them.
Getawombatupya@aussie.zone 1 year ago
What about Rocktober savings, and flailing tube person vendors?
Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
They can diversify into Inflatable flailing squid vendors!
JustZ@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Civil liability. You cannot sue in state court without personal jurisdiction over the maker, you know, in case they make a car with a fuel tank that explodes everytime you tap the fender or something. However, if they have a physical business footprint in the state, it’s fair to sue them there.
It would be the end of auto recalls because they’d force their cases into whatever singular federal court that they pick and just whittle away the law of product liability one case at a time. Elon Musk would love that.
shottymcb@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Dealerships aren’t owned by car companies.
5BC2E7@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Can’t this be solved by updating requirements to allow vehicle sales?
SmoothIsFast@citizensgaming.com 1 year ago
How about people pay attention to local elections? The reason we are not seeing funding for EV infrastructure is most small towns can be bought by the local dealership family who would rather see continued profits from ICE vehicle maintenance and not investments into EV infrastructure, then it conviently sides with this bullshit narrative of nothing can be sold and we have no infrastructure so give up on EVs.
CatfishSushi@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Henry Ford designed the Model T to be a bare-bones vehicle affordable for the everyday person. Volkswagon designed the Beetle to be a bare-bones vehicle affordable for the everyday person.
The first car company to design an EV that’s a bare-bones vehicle affordable for the everyday person will sell lots of them. Profit per car may be lower but perhaps we need to set the need for maximum profits aside on this particular issue?
My raises aren’t even CLOSE to keeping up with inflation. Rather hard to splurge on a fancy EV with tons of high-tech nice-to-have features that are just going to break anyway. All I need to do is to get from point A to point B and have AC, heat and a half-decent stereo system.
JustZ@lemmy.world 1 year ago
He’d be rolling in his grave if he saw the clickwrap agreements they have to get in a modern car now. Can’t start the ignition without sharing your personal data with the car maker and 799 of its “partners.”
teuast@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
set maximum profits aside
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
JonEFive@midwest.social 1 year ago
Out of curiosity, how much would it cost for you to consider an EV affordable for the everyday person?
The Chevy Bolt has been around for years and can be purchased new for less than $30k. Same with the Nissan Leaf. That’s a pretty attainable number for a lot of working adults, and that’s assuming you buy brand new. Multiple 2020 Bolts are available near me for around $20k. I’m seeing Bolts that might be another year or two older as low as $15k
I’d argue that price isn’t the thing keeping people away from EVs. You can buy a relatively inexpensive EV if you want to.
epyon22@programming.dev 1 year ago
I’m putting money on Toyota and their Panasonic batteries to build something like a Corolla EV for $25k USD 400 mile range.
Infrastructure is going to have to keep up too. Unless you are in a progressive/new/expensive apartment/neighborhood has reliable access to chargers that’s going to have to change before you can start selling EVs to lower and lower middle class. Right now they only make sense of you have a garage to park in.
MaxVoltage@lemmy.world 1 year ago
😡🤬 How dare you suggest we buy Chinese electric vehicles
brisk@aussie.zone 1 year ago
There’s an Australian company targeting that market, although AFAICT is vapourware so far, and imo a little too low performance for the price
radix@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Give me a solid car with an electric motor, but all old-school buttons and knobs in the cabin instead of a touchscreen that will be out of date in 5 years and cost 10k to replace if the kids get their grimy hands on it.
Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social 1 year ago
My ideal electric car is basically an 85 GTI with an electric motor, but they’re all SUVs
olympicyes@lemmy.world 1 year ago
You know there are absolutely zero controls on privacy for Tesla telemetry data. It’s wild to me that a car that is really quite a bit simpler than an ICE car is required to be perpetually online. That said, I saw there’s a company trying to offer electric retrofits for ICE vehicles, primarily classic cars, but that’s likely to be closest to what you want.
TrumpetX@programming.dev 1 year ago
I just had my screen replaced because the L in LCD started oozing all over. It was $2200 which didn’t include the radio that cost an extra $500. So, not 10k, but not cheap either. On the plus side, outside of New tires, that’s the only thing I’ve done to the car in 8 years.
darth_helmet@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Maybe it’s because cars suck now: filled with spyware, massively complex systems that aren’t better at doing car things than similar systems in the 90s, and with a price tag that considers this garbage as worth something to the consumer.
gullible@kbin.social 1 year ago
I sincerely wish that were the case. The proliferation of Ring doorbells, Alexa speakers, and overall lack of tech literacy really hampers any signs of general outcry. Our collective screech barely registers as a whimper in the grand scheme.
SeaJ@lemm.ee 1 year ago
The same thing happens in ICE vehicles. The issue here is that they marked them up an insane amount, refuse to learn about them, and actively discourage people from buying them.
Moneo@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Spoiler alert: cars have always sucked.
Inefficient drain of public and private money. Demand better public transportation.
Socsa@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Bullshit. These dealers don’t want to sell EVs because they can’t bait you into a sales pitch 4 times a year with free oil changes.
kemsat@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Car dealers are just a legal & institutionalized cartel.
Archer@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Fascinating, have they tried sucking less?
Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
I would like to buy an electric car but I will not because;
- I don’t have a garage.
- I live in a very wintery climate and don’t trust the battery to take it/don’t want to heat a battery
- The closest chargers are at least 50 km away in other towns
- My house has 60 amp service (upgrading that is on the todo list, but it’s a long list)
- I don’t trust the battery to last longer than the life of the lease
circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org 1 year ago
The infrastructure isn’t there. I live in an apartment (and likely will for the foreseeable future), and there are no chargers here.
The option of a (practical) electric car does not exist for a sizeable portion of the country. The fact that they’re really expensive is actually secondary considering they’re just a non-starter without the infrastructure.
Sarmyth@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 year ago
They can sell them, they just don’t want to order what people want to buy. It’s actually them ignoring the legitimate intention of the phrase: “The customer is always right.”
Whenever someone says that, this is actually what the author meant. If your customers keep coming in to buy size 8-11 shoes and you only want to stock sizes 12 and 13, you are wrong. The customer always knows what they are willing to buy. Some people can be coerced, but you can’t make someone who doesn’t want a truck for 100k buy one.
AlecSadler@lemmy.world 1 year ago
When GM killed the Bolt, I tried to buy one at two different dealerships near me. One wanted a $10k premium over MSRP and the other wanted $8k.
They also both had a non-negotiable “security” etching added and wheel protection whatever that I had to pay for.
It isn’t that I didn’t want one, it’s that your dealerships fucked it up.
Honestly, may have settled for MSRP, but they wouldn’t budge. Fuck off.
LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 1 year ago
If they can’t sell them then let companies sell without a dealership! Sorry your scammy business isn’t working anymore either clean your nose or get out
Vacationlandgirl@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I loved my Volt… Charged overnight in a normal 110 outlet got me the 43 miles to work and back (after about year 5, not quite the whole way) but I could still decide to go on a 600 mile road trip spur of the moment. Had to give up the 2014 in 2023 when a full charge wouldn’t go 20 miles. ☹️
There is no PHEV comparable now, though! Made the switch back to full ICE and I hate it.
Jeredin@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I want and have wanted an EV since 2013…can’t afford one. So to be clear, it’s not a matter of wanting, it’s a matter of making an affordable one.
Underwaterbob@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Supply and demand, right? Surely they’ll get cheaper, right?
Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Car dealers don’t want to sell EVs, it’s a lot more work for them
They can sell an ICE vehicle within an hour of a customer showing up on the lot.
EVs can take multiple days and sit downs to try and sell because people have questions since it’s new and they want to understand the details before purchasing.
That means less commission, so salesmen try to avoid selling people EVs over ICE vehicles.
rayyy@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Dealers are waiting to see it the country becomes a full on fascist, road warrior, shit-hole country or continue on a path to a modern first world democracy.
jray4559@lemmy.sdf.org 1 year ago
You can’t sell EV’s because:
1: too expensive to buy new 2: if you live anywhere that’s not a big city, or you have a garage, there is basically no electric chargers for you.
The city I live in (~30k people) has 6 chargers total. None of them are superchargers. Wait times are already a sticking point in the best case, nevermind what the wait times would be if everyone where I’m at had an electric car tomorrow. The whole downtown would maybe gridlock just because of people waiting.
For comparison, there are probably 2-300 gas pumps around the city. 5 gas stations within 5 minutes of where I am, all with at least 8 pumps, all well used. People are not going to get EV’s unless there is an infrastructure that is equivalent to gas around where they live.
And that infrastructure is not gonna be fun to get going.
The average person living in the city can’t really use them with street parking, can’t always guarantee a spot after all, and installing a personal one for yourself all but requires a personal garage, which locks out the people who live in poorer housing.
Lots of people in my city and I suspect many others live in trailer parks with low/fixed incomes, having just a simple driveway. Where are they gonna get the thousand or two to install a Level 2 charging station? My mom and dad certainly don’t have the money.
Expecting the EV companies to make the infrastructure with the money they get just from selling EV’s is gonna turn into one gigantic chicken-and-egg problem. The government is going to have to do it, and anyone who’s not living along an interstate can see just how much benefit they are personally getting from it so far… (hint: none)
randon31415@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I would have bought a plug in electric, but my apartment didn’t like the idea of me throwing extension cords out my second story window.
donuts@kbin.social 1 year ago
You're not gonna sell shit with jacked up sky high prices, even more so in a time of high interest rates. We see your lots are full of unsold cars, both ICE and EV, so maybe it's time to bring prices back down to Earth.
We really ought to change the laws to allow for direct-to-consumer car sales. Dealerships are scummy motherfuckers who are perfectly happy to be a middleman and rip people off.
n3m37h@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
Give me an EV without a massive center console that blinds me at night. Remove all the “smart” features like lane assist. Give me a fucking dumb EV
RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Gotta push the EV infrastructure harder. No good pushing lots of EV cars when the infrastructure there to support them. Can’t charge at work. Can’t charge at your apartment complex. No charge at the shopping areas. Etc. Other than the high initial cost, I’d suggest that the inconvenience and irritation of trying to locate charging along with range limits is a major factor in people not wanting EV.
guacupado@lemmy.world 1 year ago
If they can’t sell it, then they’ll lower prices and people will be able to buy them.
I doubt the profits are so hard to come up with considering the wild CEO pay and record profits everyone’s bragging about.
youngGoku@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Yeah lol… Why curb supply to artificially keep prices high? Sounds like a crime.
Uglyhead@lemmy.world 1 year ago
We can keep producing mass amounts of EV’s; we’ll just store them all in caves in middle America.
Cheers@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Just bought an EV from a local dealer. Went in on Saturday because they had a 2 month used listing on their website for about 10k under MSRP. They told me, oh no that sold, but please check out the new cars. I entertained them and told them they’d need to bring down the price 10k to get me to sign because it’s simply out of my price range. They also mentioned these things (ioniq 6) are selling extremely quickly and they only have a few on the lot.
They insisted and played games for a week, with offers OVER msrp, so I let them waste their time. They pushed me to come in, so as I was about to sign, I told them, actually, no. I need an offer 10k under MSRP or I’m leaving. At this point that was a 15k cut. They’ve now wasted a week of negotiation and suddenly found the used one I originally requested, but it was at their off-site lot.
We drove over there, and it was a large 5 story parking deckcompletely filled to the top. They even had cars parked in front of cars. They tried one last game and made me wait for 3 hours to get it out.
All that is to say, let the fuckers bleed. If they can’t afford Christmas, maybe they need to learn what the fuck capitalism really means. If they can’t afford new years, it’s time to make a new resolution and if they can’t afford spring break, it’s time to find a new job.
dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world 1 year ago
That’s straight up bait-and-switch! Good on you to hold them to the original advertisement.
Eventually, they’ll move inventory to other dealerships (and the scrapheap), fire-sale the rest, cover their losses, and make room for new models. Dealers are amazing at colossal inventory stunts like this.