Like it or not, electric vehicles are here to stay, leaving car dealers with the unenviable task of ramping up sales in a new and challenging segment. One of the most important questions dealers will need to answer in the coming months is how they will win customers in a market that contradicts everything the industry has known about the car business.
On this episode of Inside Automotive, host Jim Fitzpatrick is joined by John Fitzpatrick, president and CEO of Force Marketing. Force Marketing is an industry-leading provider of automotive marketing solutions, one that has helped dealers navigate the onset of digital media and changing consumer preferences. Now, Fitzpatrick discusses strategies to compete for electric vehicle buyers and dominate in this evolving landscape.
Key Takeaways
1. The electric vehicle market has progressed at a faster pace than the car industry could keep up with. Manufacturers still have many obstacles to overcome in the transition away from the internal combustion engine (ICE), while dealers must come up with new solutions that allow them to sell the inventory they are given.
2. Although inventory levels are far ahead of current demand, Fitzpatrick attests that electric vehicles have a bigger consumer base than one would think. Furthermore, affordability in the segment has started to improve, with prices falling far more quickly than on the ICE side, and charging availability is expanding. These trends will soon lead more buyers to the market, causing a surge in demand.
3. Fitzpatrick notes there has been tremendous interest shown toward electric vehicles among consumers. Thirty-three million online searches relating to battery-powered cars occurred in December 2023 alone. On a full-year basis, roughly 70% of all electric vehicle searches were tied to non-Tesla automakers, up from 30% the year before, underlining the fact that there are many customers in the market that dealers could be accessing.
4. Working with a marketing vendor can help dealers understand what their customers are looking for in their market and ensure that they can directly speak to buyers directly through relevant website content. Fitzpatrick asserts that educational content will be the most helpful in terms of winning online leads.
5. Electric vehicles should be seen as an opportunity for dealers to grow their business, improve customer retention, and set themselves apart from competing franchises in their area. As this fledgling market continues to develop, Fitzpatrick urges dealers to adopt a customer-lifetime mentality, one that prioritizes the long-term relationship with a buyer, using elements such as high-quality fixed-ops service, and ultimately leads to higher sales and brand loyalty.
"We can understand that innovation does take time...we are past our early adopters in EV, we're in that chasm on the bell curve, and we're starting to go 'ok how do we transition this thing to be real.' The time is now, and I think the early movers, like first-mover advantage always has, [are] gonna continue in these marketplaces. Question I would say is, are you that dealer, or do you wanna sit back and wait?" — John Fitzpatrick
