Electric vehicles account for just six of every 1,000 new cars and trucks sold in the United States. But it won't stay that way much longer: In 2017, hardly a month passed without a major global automaker announcing plans to boost its production of EVs.
If the factories follow through, the number of nameplates of battery-powered vehicles in the United States will increase from 14 this year to 85 by 2025, according to WardsAuto. And by 2030, depending on the projection, battery electric vehicles will represent anywhere from 10 percent to half of new-vehicle sales.
The potential for EVs to alter the service business model of franchised new-vehicle dealerships is huge. Experts say everything in the back of the store — vehicle repair, parts, body shops, service customer retention — will be disrupted if the coming armada of electric vehicles, which require less maintenance than traditional cars and trucks, sells in high volume.