Auto Dealers Call on Biden to Hit Brakes on Unrealistic, Unachievable Electric Vehicles Mandate

A coalition of nearly 4,000 auto dealers on Tuesday sent a letter to President Joe Biden explaining why his plans to force Americans into electric vehicles are unworkable.

The bottom line: Despite subsidies to car manufacturers to make the EVs, and tax credits for drivers to buy the cars, only 7% of new vehicle sales are electric vehicles, compared with Biden’s goal of 60% in 2030 and 66% in 2032.

The auto dealers wrote that “the supply of unsold [battery electric vehicles] is surging, as they are not selling nearly as fast as they are arriving at our dealerships—even with deep price cuts, manufacturer incentives, and generous government incentives.”
https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/11...istic-unachievable-electric-vehicles-mandate/

Let's post the letter in it's entirety

A Letter to the President
Dear Mr. President,

We are auto dealers from across the country who collectively sell every major brand in the U.S. We are small businesses employing thousands of Americans. We are deeply committed to the customers we serve and the communities where we operate, which is why we are asking you to slow down your proposed regulations mandating battery electric vehicle (BEV) production and distribution.

Your Administration has proposed regulations that would essentially mandate a dramatic shift to battery electric vehicles (BEVs), increasing year after year until 2032, when two out of every three vehicles sold in America would have to be battery electric.

Currently, there are many excellent battery electric vehicles available for consumers to purchase. These vehicles are ideal for many people, and we believe their appeal will grow over time. The reality, however, is that electric vehicle demand today is not keeping up with the large influx of BEVs arriving at our dealerships prompted by the current regulations. BEVs are stacking up on our lots.

Last year, there was a lot of hope and hype about EVs. Early adopters formed an initial line and were ready to buy these vehicles as soon as we had them to sell. But that enthusiasm has stalled. Today, the supply of unsold BEVs is surging, as they are not selling nearly as fast as they are arriving at our dealerships -- even with deep price cuts, manufacturer incentives, and generous government incentives.

While the goals of the regulations are admirable, they require consumer acceptance to become a reality. With each passing day, it becomes more apparent that this attempted electric vehicle mandate is unrealistic based on current and forecasted customer demand. Already, electric vehicles are stacking up on our lots which is our best indicator of customer demand in the marketplace.

Mr. President, no government agency, no think tank, and no polling firm knows more about the automobile customer than us. We talk to customers every day. As retail automotive dealerships, we are agnostic as to what we sell. Our business is to provide customers with vehicles that meet the needs of their budgets and lifestyles.

Some customers are in the market for electric vehicles, and we are thrilled to sell them. But the majority of customers are simply not ready to make the change. They are concerned about BEVs being unaffordable. Many do not have garages for home charging or easy access to public charging stations. Customers are also concerned about the loss of driving range in cold or hot weather. Some have long daily commutes and don’t have the extra time to charge the battery. Truck buyers are especially put off by the dramatic loss of range when towing. Today’s current technology is not adequate to support the needs of the majority of our consumers.

Many of these challenges can and will be addressed by our manufacturers, but many of these challenges are outside of their control. Reliable charging networks, electric grid stability, sourcing of materials, and many other issues need time to resolve. And finally, many people just want to make their own choice about what vehicle is right for them.

Mr. President, it is time to tap the brakes on the unrealistic government electric vehicle mandate. Allow time for the battery technology to advance. Allow time to make BEVs more affordable. Allow time to develop domestic sources for the minerals to make batteries. Allow time for the charging infrastructure to be built and prove reliable. And most of all, allow time for the American consumer to get comfortable with the technology and make the choice to buy an electric vehicle.

Sincerely,
Supporting Dealerships

https://evvoiceofthecustomer.com/

As National Review notes:

How Long Does It Take the Federal Government to Build One Electric-Vehicle Charger?

Longer than two years, apparently.

The $7.5 billion in funding for electric-vehicle chargers from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law has so far yielded zero new chargers,
according to Politico
. “Odds are they will not be able to start powering Americans’ vehicles until at least 2024,” the story says.

The Biden administration wants to build “a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers” by 2030, according to a February 2023 statement. That statement said the charger plans were “evidence of the President’s successful industrial strategy, ensuring that federal funds are attracting private investment to ensure the clean energy transition is powered by American manufacturing and good-paying union jobs.” A December 2021 statement called the charger spending “a transformative down payment on the transition to a zero-emission future.”
https://www.nationalreview.com/corn...rnment-to-build-one-electric-vehicle-charger/

Only this administration would have the utter gall to claim this as some "successful industrial strategy". It once again show you what happens when people who graduate college being fed the liberal mush go straight into the government to tell us all how to run our lives and thinking THEY know better than the highly trained highly successful business and industrial base in this country and they know better than the free markets.

THIS should be a KEY issue in the upcoming elections. It is time to get the government OUT of our free markets and this liberal boy-industrialist in it regulating us into a crash of our transport system. If EV's are so great then let them prove themselves in the FREE market. The government never subsidized the ICE vehicles nor their fuel infrastructure, the FREE MARKET created that greatest transportation system history has ever seen.

Stop wasting taxpayer money on this boondoggle.

 

Not sure about the vehicles themselves, but the funds for Charger installs and upgrades have only opened up for applications this year.

https://highways.dot.gov/newsroom/b...lion-available-improve-ev-charger-reliability

Then there seems to have been a few things started this year that came out of that bill.

Excuse the partisan language. It comes directly from the WH website.

So yeah, with how fast the Federal Govt moves, I feel your prognostications on the success of this might be premature.

Personally my next car will absolutely be a hybrid as I know more then a few with them who rave about their gas savings over time.

 

In big cities with high rise condos, it will probably be impossible to get 66% EV penetration. Those condos typically have underground parking spanning several/many floors, chargers would need to be installed and paid for by the residents and they might not want to do it. Plus, and I've heard this mentioned many times, the floors might not be able to support the weight of all those EVs, especially in the older buildings in NYC, Chicago, Miami, etc.

 

Not many want to rewire their home just to recharge something with very limited range..

I know of, hardly seen around, two in this town. In big cities they are prolly nice, but always limited, Americans are not willing to sit for hours waiting to get a couple hundred miles down the road..

And then there are places that if your batteries fail or die, there is a very good possibility the driver and passenger will too!!

No cell phone service, 80 mile to the nearest town reliability and range is crucial!

 

OK, so you have a multi story parking garage and an EV starts to burn. How many cars does it take out and are the floors weakened and made unusable?

 

It's a 3 hour ride from where I live to Albuquerque with very little in between. I would have to start the day with a full charge, maybe just roll into Albuquerque with a few electrons left in the battery, charge the darn thing for who knows how long, and then pray I can make it back. There are a few dead spots for cell phones along the way but that drive is mostly isolated and lonely.

 

I'll admit I have had my card out a few times at the Harley shop I think I would enjoy the livewire. Gets about the same milage as my fatboy and the same amout of show off time I generally do around town.. The real concern is performance, I'm a bit of an idiot when it comes to acceleration, ever young an dumb in mind, not body..

 

no one is making them put EV's on their lot

 

"The auto dealers wrote that “the supply of unsold [battery electric vehicles] is surging, as they are not selling nearly as fast as they are arriving at our dealerships—even with deep price cuts, manufacturer incentives, and generous government incentives.”
https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/11...istic-unachievable-electric-vehicles-mandate/"

people are getting sick of digital cars, regardless if ICE or EV - they cost to much to fix and maintain

 

so you against gas stoves in apartment buildings too, cause might have a gas leak?

 

I don’t follow what specific policy they’re upset about. Govt incentives? Don’t they decide how many of each car they get on their lot? Biden isn’t deciding that is he?

 

The evolving plan from EPA is to tell manufacturers what specifically they can build each year. Dealers then have to sell whatever manufacturers are allowed to make.

An economic disaster of epic proportions in the making.

 

Note that auto dealers are one of the largest donor groups to the GOP — in addition they will be the most impacted by manufactures moving to direct to customers sales instead of a middle man taking their cut. Manufacturers are teasing this with new EV’s

I think that is more concerning to them than EV’s are.

 

Strange, they don’t mention that in the letter

 

So you think that selling nearly 4 million EVs in 12 years in a country that sells 15-18 million light duty vehicles annually constitutes some kind of terrifying threat to auto dealers?

Got to admit, it's a novel, if idiotic, theory.

 

There needs to be regulation about having battery vehicles in parking structures at all.

Luton airport should make is keenly aware at the danger they pose.

Say a fire starts and spreads to electric vehicles you can't fight this fire it simply burns until all the fuel is consumed this will engulf destroy and kill anything above it.

 

If it's the only one probably all the cars in it's level of there are multiples it will likely burn the garbage completely.

 

You can put out a fire starts from a gas leak. Battery fires consume everything until they burn out. You can't fight that fire. Look at the Luton airport fire.

 

I didn’t think I had made my post that complex. Apologies

No, I think manufacturers moving to selling vehicles directly to customers and bypassing dealers is a “terrifying threat to auto dealers”.

Hopefully this was a less difficult read. Let me know if it wasn’t and I will try again.

 

Proposed regulations are not resulting to any cars on their lots. They’re proposed….

 

and it may burn down the entire apartment complex, should other tenants have to worry you shut off the gas on your stove, sometimes gas leaks explode

should we ban laptops and cellphones from planes too, same batteries, right?

 

Not what I meant. Fighting a fire feed by gas is easier because you can shut off the gas feeding it.

But I think you knew that. Bad faith and dishonesty seems to be a staple component for the pro disaster people. (Electric cars will be an ecological disaster if they aren't already)

If they have a 700kg battery that burns for four days yes as I'm not aware of such a thing it's not deeply worrisome.

 

It's time to scrap the proposal. Cars only for the rich isn't a good thing.

 

They burn hot enough to melt the concrete.

 

ah, so batter bursting into flames on a plane would be ok

can you link to a car that burned for 4 days

I had a cell phone batter go up in flames, was like a torch, very hot, but not long lasting

I can link to a town burning for years as the coal was ignited under the town

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia_mine_fire

"The Centralia mine fire is a coal-seam fire that has been burning in the labyrinth of abandoned coal mines underneath the borough of Centralia, Pennsylvania, United States, since at least May 27, 1962"