Michigan Chevy dealer embraces EVs while the industry takes a step back

DETROIT — Bowman Chevrolet sold only one or two electric vehicles per month in 2019, when the Chevrolet Bolt was one of just a few mass-market electric models available and EV sales made up only about 1 percent of total industry volume. But at the end of that year, the dealership asked for 50 Bolts. It sold them all in the first half of 2020.

That marked the beginning of Bowman Chevy's unwavering commitment to EVs.

Katie Coleman, the dealer principal, thought that a couple of EV sales per month would not keep pace with General Motors' electrification ambitions, which eventually became a goal of a fully zero-emission lineup by 2035, if customer demand supports it. Embracing EVs meant investing beyond GM's requirements in training, infrastructure and the local community.

Now in the second half of 2024, EVs make up about 11 percent of the store's total new-car volume, Coleman said. "If you are still selling one to two or none, then I think you have missed out," she told Automotive News during a visit to the dealership in Clarkston, Mich., which now sells the Equinox EV and Blazer EV crossovers and the Silverado EV pickup.

Though EVs have become more popular since 2019, slowing sales growth has quieted the buzz in the U.S. GM lowered EV production targets by as many as 50,000 vehicles this year, while other automakers made similar adjustments. Most dealers surveyed by Cox Automotive this summer said they felt EV sales would decline in the coming months. EV share of the light-vehicle market in the first half of 2024 was 7.4 percent.

At Bowman Chevy, General Sales Manager Joe Jackson just traded in his Bolt for a Blazer EV for his family. He is one of many dealership staffers who own an EV.

The Blazer is his wife's daily driver. "We charge it at night; just come home and plug it back in."

Bowman Chevy's commitment to selling EVs makes it somewhat of an outlier. CDK Global surveyed 250 dealership leaders for a study published in July, and nearly half said their sales teams weren't excited about selling EVs.

Back in 2019, Coleman thought just basic training would not prepare the store to regularly sell and service EVs.

Early on, "dealers were just training one [EV] expert in sales," she said. "If a customer came in asking about an EV and that expert was on vacation or at lunch, the answer was: 'I'm sorry, you will have to wait.' "

In the years since, all salespeople at Bowman Chevy have completed GM's EV training. Coleman even paid to install chargers at the homes of sales staff who bought an EV early in Bowman's electric shift. Now, the dealership sells about 30 new and seven used EVs a month on average.

The EV market today is far more competitive than in 2019. Despite the lagging pace of growth, EV registrations increased more than the broader U.S. auto market in the first half of 2024, up 7 percent year over year compared with a 1.8 percent increase.

With a Tesla showroom about 2 miles from the dealership, "if we are not experts, then they just go there," Coleman said.

The store also invested in equipment, tools and safety hardware for the service drive and spent roughly $200,000 on chargers — having installed eight Level 2 chargers on-site, quadruple the two GM requires.

In May, Coleman bought Bowman Chevrolet of Clinton, also in Michigan. The store is not a GM-certified EV dealership, but Coleman and her team are working to update the facility.

"I don't see a 100 percent EV future necessarily," Coleman said, "but I just felt like I would be silly to turn my back on a segment that was growing."

The staff at Bowman Chevy knows how EVs feel. The employees know how they drive, charge and fit into everyday life in a Detroit suburb.

That is in part because employees across sales, finance and service departments drive EVs as their personal vehicle.

Some have even started buying second EVs: "That's when you know that they are sold," said Rhonda Jensen, the store's general manager.

EV buyers — especially those who have owned only gasoline-powered vehicles — come to dealerships looking for an expert, Jackson said. He shares real-life examples of installing chargers at his home and his parents' home when explaining the process of buying a charger.

Not every employee drives an EV day to day, but there is usually someone around the store who does, Jackson added.

Armed with familiarity and hands-on experience, the staff at Bowman Chevy can find the customers who could benefit from an EV and talk them through the changes to their routine.

Salespeople "have to understand that charging angle," Jackson said. It "will make the customer so much more comfortable in feeling like they are going to be able to take that leap."

The dealership also builds familiarity with EVs in the community. Though the automaker doesn't require participation, the store sponsored three public fast chargers in the area through GM's Dealer Community Charging Program. And Bowman Chevy often brings an electric car to local car shows.

The dealership even has a few EVs in its loaner fleet. And if an EV buyer wants a charger at home, Bowman Chevy connects them with the electrician that installed chargers at the store.

"It is a change in how you are driving and how you are getting" fuel, Coleman said. "It has been fun to help people explore that and really enjoy it."

Bowman Chevy primarily sees two types of EV customers: well-researched buyers and same-day converts.

The first group comes in with plenty of knowledge about the vehicle itself but looks to the salesperson to explain what an EV lifestyle is like, Jackson said. Here, the salesperson should be prepared to answer small, technical questions and set the scene of what it means to drive an EV day to day, he said.

Same-day converts are looking for any vehicle and decide on an EV because of the benefits. A salesperson should tell them about potential gasoline cost savings, lower total cost of EV ownership and government incentives, Jackson said.

First-time buyers are often intimidated by the unknowns and need someone to walk them through every step of what deciding to go electric would mean, Jackson said.

They are "looking for some reassurance that it's not crazy," Jackson said. "It is just such a big change for them."

Over the years, Bowman Chevy has built a strong EV customer base. Now, many of those customers are coming back to check out the new electric models on the lot, Coleman said.

The staff looks forward to selling EVs no matter how large the electric market share ends up being.

"To just throw in the towel on a portion of your business doesn't make any sense to me," Jackson said. To sell EVs, dealerships must "get themselves and their teams familiar with the products and the lifestyle."