It’s not helping. but it definitely won’t stop the EVolution.
Plug In America wants everyone to know that the coronavirus, as bad as it is, isn’t going to stop the transition to electric cars. In fact, they are asking people to stop saying that it will, in their latest press release.
From the press release:
Despite what naysayers are trying to say, the electric vehicle (EV) market is not going anywhere. A recent study showed that EV sales may drop 43% in 2020—hinting that the EV market is in trouble. Will we see a decline in EV sales in 2020? Sure, because COVID-19 is forcing consumers to stay inside and not go shopping for any car, period. Not just electric ones. But this temporary pause in vehicle purchasing doesn’t mean that EVs are out and the gas car is back in style.
A quick internet search will reveal articles saying that this crisis is bad news for electric vehicle supporters like this one from Grist or this one from Bloomberg. Then, of course, we have the always-reliable OilPrice dot com site with this beauty: Coronavirus Could Derail The Electric Car Revolution.
We even posted a video by well-known YouTuber Ben Sullins here in InsideEVs today that asked the question “Will Tesla Survive The Recession?” Sullins says he thinks Tesla will come out of this just fine, but the fact that we’re even asking that question is worrisome. But not to Plug In America.
In fact, Plug In America sees the impending auto market slowdown as an opportunity to get more EVs on the road, not less:
With declining demand for cars expected over the coming months, automakers are expected to be reducing shifts and maybe idling whole factories in response. For some, this could also be an opportunity to terminate struggling gasoline models and move more rapidly in taking their long-planned EV models into production.
We agree that there’s an opportunity to use the current crisis as a springboard to get more electric vehicles in the hands of the public. However, we need to do a better job of explaining the long term financial benefits of driving electric. During market slow-downs and recession, buyers are more cost-conscious than ever, and the higher MSRP of electric vehicles scare many people away.
However, when you calculate the total cost of ownership, including incentives, lower refueling expenses, and savings in long-term maintenance costs, the EV often costs much less than a comparable ICE car.
The problem is few people know how to calculate the total cost of ownership, and most car dealers cannot either. We need to do a better job of informing the public about the economic advantages of driving electric. This is why Plug In America developed its EV dealership training program, PlugStar.
We’ve attached Plug In America’s full press release below. We suggest taking a few minutes to read it and let us know in the comment section below if you agree with what they’re saying.
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