DETROIT — Legislators across the U.S. are pushing for a transition to EVs while most consumers still don't understand what that will look like day to day. In the middle of it all are dealers.
Diane Maher, COO of Fox Motors in Michigan, said her dealers have been put "on the front lines" of the EV transition; some feel like they are playing catch-up to fulfill that role. Many consumers have looked to dealers to help them fill in their gaps of knowledge and preparation, Maher said Tuesday during a Future of Automotive Retail panel at the Automotive News Congress.
For example, Fox Motors "didn't feel like it was our role to tell a customer what they need to do for their garage" when it came to the installation of home chargers, she said. But "the customers don't know what to do. So we had to adapt at the dealership level to try to become experts on that as well," she said.