Are Cheap EVs Really That Far Away From Australian Showrooms?
As more OEMs ramp up production of purely battery electric vehicles (BEVs), is your dealership scrambling to adapt its customer lifecycle program as the influx of BEVs gathers momentum?
Have some Australian dealers (and OEMs) been caught on the back foot thinking the premium price tag of EVs would limit their growth of market share?
Consider the following scenario.
Ali is looking for a small to mid-size SUV. His partner is expecting their second child and their small 10-year-old hatchback will soon no longer meet their needs.
They’ve looked at petrol, diesel, and hybrid variants across a range of brands, but agreed the current EV offerings were all outside their budget of $50k. After visiting several showrooms and a few test drives, they agreed they both liked the hybrid options but baulked at the prices and 8-plus-month wait for the models they liked. Same with the diesels. More months-long waiting lists and out of their price range.?
Disillusioned and desperate to swap their hatchback for something with more space but still frugal on the fuel, they resigned themselves to a petrol solution as their only viable - and available - option that fit their budget.?
But then they heard about a little-known brand - at least to the Australian market - that was about to bring in a new EV SUV for under $50k.
Ali had installed solar on their roof two years ago and excitedly told his partner about the new EV option. By the end of that week, they’d put a deposit down for a vehicle they’d yet to see in the flesh, let-alone test-drive, and were already researching home-charging stations.
Does this sound like a story that will become more and more common as we move into 2023 and beyond?
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Electric vehicles are already now so popular in Germany, that the government is reducing subsidies. While the Australian market is quite different from European markets, how accurate is the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ recent forecast that cheap electric vehicles are still at least a decade away from Australian showrooms?
Not very, if you ask Ali and thousands of other Australians jumping enthusiastically on the EV bandwagon.
As supply chains recover, chip shortages dissipate, and EV manufacturers increasingly adapt to the challenge of producing affordable high-capacity battery packs, what impacts will the influx of affordable EVs have on your service department’s profitability?
The good news is, it’s up to you.
Provided your CRM has a dedicated service module that enables your team to optimise the EV service pipeline and the upsell conversion process.?
Capture More Upsell Opportunities
Even with the growth of over-the-air (OTA) delivered services, EV service schedules are much the same as their internal combustion engine (ICE) or plug-in hybrid (PHEV) counterparts. Dealers can also still maximise their revenue opportunities in other milestones along the customer lifecycle, including F&I and aftersales, to bolster the service department revenue.
For more insights into how dealerships are using a CRM with a dedicated service module to generate formidable upsale numbers in the service department - including one AMS Pro client who went from zero upsales per month in the service department to more than $600,000 per month, simply by using the service module to the full extent of its capabilities - read this article on why EVs are here to stay and how they will impact the profitability of your service department.