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Title:

Zero-Emission Vehicles and Retail Innovation in the U.S. Automotive Sector: The Consumer Purchase Experience and Dealer Engagement
Cover of Zero-Emission Vehicles and Retail Innovation in the U.S. Automotive Sector: The Consumer Purchase Experience and Dealer Engagement

Accession Number:

01555638

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Abstract:

Innovative new products like plug-in electric vehicles may need new approaches to market and sell them. The authors conducted 43 interviews with automakers and dealers selling plug-in vehicles in California’s major metro markets and analyzed data on customer satisfaction with new car dealers and Tesla retail stores. The initial findings revealed: • Plug-in vehicle buyers rated the dealer purchase experience much lower than conventional vehicle buyers while Tesla earned industry-high scores; • Plug-in vehicles returned higher dealer gross profits but may insufficiently compensate for greater demands, including the provision of support services beyond traditional offerings; • Public incentives could better align with established dealer practices and business drivers to improve program effectiveness. The authors consider how pre-existing retail configurations and arms-length manufacturer-dealer relations in the traditional franchised model could both enable and hinder retail innovations for PEVs. The paper considers implications and opportunities for policy.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADC80 Alternative Transportation Fuels and Technologies.

Monograph Accession #:

01550057

Report/Paper Numbers:

15-0753

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Cahill, Eric C
Davies, Jamie
Turrentine, Thomas
Sperling, Daniel

Pagination:

13p

Publication Date:

2015

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2015-1-11 to 2015-1-15
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

Digital/other

Features:

Figures; Photos; References (23)

Identifier Terms:

Tesla automobile

Subject Areas:

Energy; Highways; Vehicles and Equipment; I15: Environment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2015 Paper #15-0753

Files:

PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Dec 30 2014 12:20PM