Barriers to EV ownership give Pa. dealer Andy Wright pause for concern

Despite the acceleration of digital retailing, research suggests that many customers across the nation still enjoy walking into car dealerships. On today’s show, we’re pleased to welcome Andy Wright, Managing Partner of Vinart Dealerships, who shares his perspective on the current state of automotive retail and how his market in Pennsylvania is responding to it.

Vinart Dealerships operates Acura, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche franchises, all of which are located in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania, located approximately one hour north of Philadelphia and an hour west of New York City. Lehigh Valley is the third-largest market in Pennsylvania and, up until two years ago, Vinart operated the number one Honda store by volume in the state. Today, the group has around 430 associates and retails approximately 7,000 cars each year.

In the Lehigh Valley market, Wright says there’s no question that the demand and interest in EVs are rising. In fact, Vinart has been selling EVs for almost three years, and back in February, they started to sell Hyundai’s Iconiq 5 for the first time.

However, Wright is still uncertain about selling all EVs across the board. He explains, “I am a little bit concerned about it. Just simply for purposes of affordability, you know, EVs are tremendously expensive right now…I don’t see them coming down in price in a meaningful way to really bring into the fold that sort of mainstream buyer.”

To hear more about how gas prices, vehicle affordability, and OEMs relations are affecting the Lehigh Valley market, be sure to watch our entire interview with Andy Wright.

Did you enjoy this interview with Andy Wright? Please share your thoughts, comments, or questions regarding this topic by submitting a letter to the editor here, or connect with us at newsroom@cbtnews.com.