Local dealerships are excited about electric vehicles and making major investments in equipment and people to speed EV adoption. Local dealerships are buying new equipment and installing charging stations on their lots. They are training their technicians and salespeople. They are educating customers about EVs and all the options they have when it comes to purchasing one. 

The best way to achieve the government and automaker goals for EV adoption is to leverage the dealer network—not scrap it. Electric vehicles are no longer luxury or niche vehicles but vehicles for mass-market customers who need options, a trade-in process, financing, and other dealership services. With more than 16,000 stores nationwide and 1.1 million-plus skilled employees, the nation’s existing dealership infrastructure is the best way to sell and service EVs.

Dealerships and manufacturers automakers need to play by the same set of rules when it comes to selling and servicing cars. Consumers need protections when it comes to buying vehicles and having them serviced. Mass-market customers need to be able to service their vehicles locally. They can’t afford to send their cars to far-off service centers or wait weeks for service to their primary (or only) vehicles. State laws have afforded those protections and they need to apply equally to dealerships and manufacturers.

Dealership jobs are critical to local economies. More than 1.1 million people work at America’s dealerships, with good-paying jobs in sales, service and management. Dealerships afford opportunities for advancement and paths to management even without a four-year college degree. Dealership employment opportunities abound for all Americans.