About a decade ago, Tesla was granted a loophole in Georgia’s franchise laws that allows the EV-only manufacturer the ability to bypass traditional independent auto dealers and sell directly to the public. The window that would have allowed other EV manufacturers to do the same has since closed.
Newer EV companies such as Rivian, Lucid, and Fisker sell directly to consumers. There are concerns among dealers that companies such as Volkswagen will be using new wholly owned startups like their Scout division to eliminate the role their dealerships play.
Auto dealers, directly and through their trade associations, consistently make the case that they are local employers. In many rural communities they may have the largest local payroll and/or be among the largest contributors to the local tax base.
A growing problem for them and this argument is that in metro areas – where more than half of the state’s population lives – ownership of these franchises are increasingly dominated by publicly traded companies. Instead of customers feeling the dealer has a personal stake in their community, they see them as an impersonal and sometimes unpleasant middleman standing between them and their next ride.
If you’ve shopped for a car online recently you’ve likely seen promises of how easy it is to buy from any dealer from the comfort of your own home. Like many other advertised promises “your results may vary”. Mine certainly did.
It became clear during Thanksgiving week last year that my car was slowly but steadily experiencing a premature death. It was time to trade up
Inventories were still somewhat supply chain limited, so I wasn’t expecting a discount for the model I wanted. I required a specific model with a few options in various color combinations that could be delivered during the month of December. That gave me almost a six-week window for a “German” car assembled in Mexico to either be available in-stock or nearing shipment to the…
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