NADA has launched a training program for franchised dealerships as retailers prepare to sell more electric vehicles and educate first-time EV buyers.
The program is in collaboration with the Center for Sustainable Energy and Plug In America, and supported by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
"We advocate for dealers, but we also have a responsibility to help educate dealers," NADA CEO Mike Stanton said Friday. "And we thought we'd do it a little differently this time."
The online, interactive program will complement automakers' model-specific training and provide "quick, easily digestible talking points."
Stanton said the association expects to roll out the module-based training program before the end of June. The program will provide online and in-person training opportunities.
John Gartner, senior director at the Center for Sustainable Energy, said EVs require a different conversation at the dealership.
"The sales representatives who work at these dealerships will be pivotal," Gartner said. "This training program will provide these representatives with the knowledge that they can rely on to remove any fear, uncertainty or doubt about owning an EV."
Dealership sales staff who successfully complete the course will receive certification, NADA said. Program participants, upon completion, also will receive Plug In America's PlugStar certification.
Plug In America's executive director, Joel Levin, said that "when dealers get the right support, not only do they sell more EVs, but consumers walk away more satisfied from the buying experience."
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