“It’s been great to see the car companies … recognize that the dealers are essential in the journey to electrification and that we need to get there together,” he said.
“That’s how it’s going to happen: if we’re aligned.”
John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said the industry will have invested $330 billion in electrification by 2025.
But achieving a 40 to 50 percent annual U.S. sales volume of zero-emission vehicles by 2030, he said, is “going to take an enormous transformation that really requires everyone.”
“It’s going to require engagement with our dealers,” said Bozzella, whose association represents most automakers in the U.S.
The “enormous undertaking,” he added, will also require partnerships with policymakers, the development of new building codes as well as new approaches to energy generation and grid resiliency.
“That’s the work we have to do,” Bozzella said. “And that’s why the partnership with the dealers is so important because, collectively, we’ve got to make that case for those policies.”
For dealers, Stanton said NADA has been advocating for its members and correcting any misconceptions about their role in selling EVs.
“A lot of product is coming, and we need to be ready,” he said.
Bozzella cautioned that while there’s plenty of excitement about the “extraordinary transformation,” there’s also uncertainty as the industry continues to struggle with a severe shortage of semiconductors and other supply chain challenges.
Those disruptions, too, have affected automakers’ retail networks as dealers face lower-than-normal levels of new-vehicle inventories.
“I think we recognize there are opportunities in this transformation, if we work together, and we trust each other, to serve the customer,” Bozzella said.
