What's Wrong With This Picture: How Not To Change The Industry Edition
March 23rd, 2023 5:15 PM
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Electric car makers like to make a big fuss about how their clean-green automobiles are going to “change the industry.” Sometimes those instincts lead to hubris and overreach (ahem, Tesla), while other times the changes make you long for the relative simplicity of the new car dealer fandango we all go through to buy “regular cars.” In the case of Think, the business innovations (namely the innovation of relying on accumulating local tax credits to get the price to seem as low as possible) are enough to make the world of dealer markups and delivery charges seem downright quaint and homey. And that’s not the way to change this business…
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The only thing worse are those dealer ads saying the price is $14,995, then in the fine print saying "after $7500 cash or trade"
Have you ever tried to scrounge up all the tax credits yourself? It's a PITA. This just simplifies it. My question to you Ed, is how do you think EV car makers could/should "change the industry." Because at the end of the day, they're still just car dealers, trying to make a buck at a time when EV's are becoming ever more politicized.
I'd really like to see the $7,500 tax credit apply to the Roehr elecric superbike. $10k would be the price of a normal motorcycle, it's 67hp and has 75 mile range and can hit 100mph. Very usable on the highways. At $18k, It's a bit pricey. All the "mainstream" electric bikes (like Zero...) seem to only have dealerships in California, while Roehr itself is in my state.
If the states offering such lavish subsidies for EVs begin charging EV owners for per-mile taxes that they're losing by not selling gasoline to these owners, the EV payback becomes even worse, or non-existent.