Canadian dealers are preparing for a flurry of changes in their service departments as customers embrace electric vehicles and automakers require new spending to lay the groundwork for the EV era.
Kim Day, COO of Steele Auto Group, which operates 54 new-car dealerships in Atlantic Canada and Texas, said new requirements vary by automaker, but that spending on chargers and other equipment needed to service EVs will be “significant.”
“A lot of dealers are having a difficult time wrapping their head around the ROI [return on investment], especially in the short term, because as we know the rollout of EVs is not going to happen overnight,” Day said during an Automotive News Canada Congress panel. She was joined by three other panelists for the June 8 discussion.
Though faced with the upfront costs, Day added, the progressive increase in EV sales offers dealers a silver lining, giving them adequate time to “plan and to evolve with technology and evolve with the manufacturers to determine what the true impact is.”