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New Car Dealers and Retail Innovation in California’s Plug-In Electric Vehicle Market

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  • Cahill, Eric
  • Davies-Shawhyde, Jamie
  • Turrentine, Thomas S

Abstract

Innovative new products like plug-in electric vehicles may need new approaches to market and sell them. We 3 conducted 43 interviews with automakers and dealers selling plug-in vehicles in California’s major metro markets 4 and analyzed data on customer satisfaction with new car dealers and Tesla retail stores. Initial findings revealed: 5 • Plug-in vehicle buyers rated the dealer purchase experience much lower than conventional vehicle buyers 6 while Tesla earned industry-high scores; 7 • Plug-in buyers expect more from dealers than conventional buyers, including product knowledge and support 8 that extends beyond traditional offerings; 9 • Profits from plug-in vehicles may not be compelling enough to convince more dealers to take on the greater 10 demands of selling these alternatives 11 • New retail approaches undertaken by dealer “pioneers”, including new methods for building and scaling 12 dealer competence, could improve the PEV buying experience; and 13 • More "retail friendly" public incentives could improve program effectiveness. 14 Evidence suggests that pre-existing retail structure in the automotive sector could spur retail innovations for PEVs, 15 but may also hinder the quality of customer support and pace of diffusion amongst dealers and customers. The paper 16 examines the implications of these findings and advances opportunities policy

Suggested Citation

  • Cahill, Eric & Davies-Shawhyde, Jamie & Turrentine, Thomas S, 2014. "New Car Dealers and Retail Innovation in California’s Plug-In Electric Vehicle Market," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt9x7255md, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    • Handle: RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt9x7255md
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    Cited by:

    1. Melton, Noel & Axsen, Jonn & Goldberg, Suzanne, 2017. "Evaluating plug-in electric vehicle policies in the context of long-term greenhouse gas reduction goals: Comparing 10 Canadian provinces using the “PEV policy report card”," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 381-393.
    2. Matthews, Lindsay & Lynes, Jennifer & Riemer, Manuel & Del Matto, Tania & Cloet, Nicholas, 2017. "Do we have a car for you? Encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles at point of sale," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 79-88.
    3. Almeida Neves, Sónia & Cardoso Marques, António & Alberto Fuinhas, José, 2019. "Technological progress and other factors behind the adoption of electric vehicles: Empirical evidence for EU countries," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 28-39.
    4. Tao Li & Lei Ma & Zheng Liu & Chaonan Yi & Kaitong Liang, 2023. "Dual Carbon Goal-Based Quadrilateral Evolutionary Game: Study on the New Energy Vehicle Industry in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-16, February.
    5. Wolinetz, Michael & Axsen, Jonn, 2017. "How policy can build the plug-in electric vehicle market: Insights from the REspondent-based Preference And Constraints (REPAC) model," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 238-250.

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