Automotive News Canada - June 2021 - 28

28
* JUNE 2021
Hugo Jeanson, co-owner and general
manager of Bourgeois ChevroletBuick-GMC,
said buyers of EVs like the
reliability and lower maintenance.
That makes for greater customer
loyalty, he said. FILE PHOTO
Even interested EV consumers
are shy to 'pull the trigger'
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23
ing an EV to reduce their carbon
footprint.
EV allocations - or lack thereof -
could be the sales linchpin for dealers
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23
The mix will depend on whether the
customers live in cities or rural areas,
where recharging stations may be few
and far between, Zimic said.
HTEC CEO Colin Armstrong, whose
North Vancouver company builds hydrogen
refueling stations, said battery
EVs might dominate, but the growth of
hydrogen fuel cell use in
heavy-duty applications
such as ports and warehouses
will help bring
down the cost for passenger
vehicles.
" I think I'm a believer
it's going to be a fairly
balanced universe by 2030
and in the light duty, "
Armstrong said.
" It's up to dealers
to adapt, " Zimic told
the panel, moderated
by Automotive News
Canada Publisher Tim
Dimopoulos. " So we're
going to have to learn as
retailers how we're going
to manage that based on
MORE CHOICE, MORE SALES
Lack of choice has been a limiting factor,
said Hugo Jeanson, co-owner and
general manager of Bourgeois ChevroletBuick-GMC
in Rawdon, Que., northeast
of Montreal.
But SUV and pickup models are starting
to arrive, and automakers are promising
more choices in every segment in the
next three or four years, he said.
EVs currently make up about half of
the annual sales at his store, Jeanson
said. Buyers are discovering they're better
overall than the fossil-fueled alternatives,
more reliable, yet need less maintenance.
That has translated into increased
loyalty, notably on the service side.
" So, we have a better retention on the
customer side and service, even though
there's a little bit less
maintenance, " Jeanson
said.
Dealers must prepare
to specialize, investing
more in training, he
said. That includes giving
employees plenty of EV
seat time and experience
commuting and recharging
at home.
" The training is very
easy, " Jeanson said. " Just
put your staff behind the
wheel. "
Armstrong:
Suggests
there will
be a wide
mix of
propulsion
technologies
by 2030,
including
hydrogen.
PHOTO VIA
LINKEDIN
what our customers need and what would
best service them. "
CANADA CONGRESS
CONVERSATIONS
noting that Toyota sells more EVs and
hybrids than anyone in the world.
" There's anxieties about range and things
like that. But cost is a big issue. "
It's one reason for the continued popularity
of hybrids, which make up about
30 per cent of Toyota's Canadian sales,
Hutchinson said. Hybrid technology is
the most logical approach to reaching
greenhouse-gas-reduction goals in the
near term, he said.
REBATES BEAT MANDATES
Incentives rather than sales mandates
are the best way for governments to create
EV demand, Hutchinson said, citing
the experience of other countries.
Federal, Quebec and British Columbia
rebates and legislated ZEV sales targets
in the two provinces have influenced how
automakers direct their
limited EV production, the
panel heard.
Ford dealer Zimic said
he could sell more EVs if
he could get them. Ontario
scrapped its ZEV rebate
program in mid-2018, hammering
sales. Statistics
Canada reported Ontario
2020 sales of 10,515 registrations,
up from 9,762
the previous year but still
were well below 2018's
total of 16,365.
Zimic recalled a conBut
the same survey of 1,500
respondents found misconceptions
about EVs, El-Achhab said.
For example, 84 per cent of
respondents didn't know
that many EVs can drive
more than 350 kilometres on
a single charge.
" There's a lot of good
questions that we assume
everybody knows, but
frankly the general public
doesn't, " El-Achhab said.
'MASSIVE' KNOWLEDGE GAP
Once consumers are armed with
accurate information, they're more
inclined to switch to EVs, said Cara
Clairman, CEO of Plug'n Drive, a
Toronto-based non-profit that educates
consumers about the economic
and environmental benefits
of EVs.
That survey factored
into Kia Canada's decision
to open the EV experience
centre, El-Achhab told
Automotive News Canada.
" When we surveyed consumers,
50 per cent said
they're interested in an EV
or would consider purchasing
an EV, " he said, " but only 3.5
per cent did. That's a massive gap ...
they're apprehensive when it comes
to pulling the trigger. "
McLaughlin:
A " very
different
consumer "
and
addressing
climate
change will
influence
the auto
industry.
SUPPLIED
PHOTO
Between 30 per cent
and 35 per cent of people
who visit the centre buy
an EV within six months,
said Clairman, adding that
most buyers who go electric
never go back to a gasoline-powered
vehicle.
Automakers need to keep
EVs top of mind for consumers
by investing in marketing
and advertising, especially
online and on television,
said Kia's El-Achhab.
" Right now, you see an
electric- or green-car ad one
out of every 25 ads, " he said.
" But as more OEMs bring
electric cars to the market,
then it becomes more prominent.
The consumer is going to look
into it and start to think, 'Maybe I
need to consider a green vehicle.' "
- ANC
Software providers, automakers
realize systems need to change
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22
Sudan: Want
more EVs?
Then build
a bigger
charging
network.
SUPPLIED
PHOTO
versation with a Kelowna, B.C., Ford
retailer during a dealer-council conference
call. Zimic mentioned that his
Cambridge store had been allocated two
or three Mustang Mach-Es, which were
sold before they arrived. The Kelowna
dealer responded that he received 163.
" I would love the opportunity to be
able to do that, " Zimic said.
Jeanson, the Quebec dealer, described
how he bought up all available Chevrolet
Volts in 2015 from as far afield as Ontario
and New Brunswick to assure his store
got a solid allocation of the new 2016
model. A revised Chevrolet Bolt is due
for the 2022 model year, along with a compact-utility
version.
Hutchinson:
The cost
is a key
barrier to EV
adoption.
FILE PHOTO
Toyota Canada CEO Larry Hutchinson
offered a sober view of the future. The
percentage of the population ready to buy
an EV is still small, with price the biggest
barrier.
" Yeah, there's other issues,' he said,
" Obviously, every allocation that we
have for 2022 is already sold, " Jeanson
said.
Building out charging infrastructure
is the key to boosting electrification,
said Himanshu Sudan, president and
co-founder of the Toronto energy management
company eCAMION. He pointed
to a 2015 Cornell University study that
concluded U.S. federal spending on the
charging network would lead to more
EV sales than funnelling that money into
buyer incentives. - ANC
Now automakers are more flexible
on supplier choices, and the suppliers
themselves are more willing
to co-operate with one another to
answer consumer demands for " better
continuity, better connectivity "
across digital platforms,
he said.
Just as someone
looking for a
TV can move from
Samsung's website
to BestBuy to
Amazon, a car shopper
wants the same
seamless transition
from manufacturer
to dealer and
third-party retailer
sites, the discussion
heard.
" Consumer
expectation of the
retail experience
is not necessarily
the last time they
bought a car - it's
the last time they
Paterson:
Consumers
expect
the auto
industry
to provide
a similar
experience
to other
digital
retailers.
FILE PHOTO
bought something. And if other verticals
can figure it out, they expect
the same of our vertical, " said panelist
Adam Paterson, marketing
director at Nissan Canada.
DIGITAL MORE DEMANDING
Of course, digital retailing is
more complicated in auto than in
packaged goods. Buying a car has
always been a " visceral " process,
and retailers need to find ways to
incorporate that, Paterson said.
Vehicles are also a big-ticket
purchase that few enter into lightly,
" but I think the only thing many of
our customers feel is more valuable
than their money is their time, " he
said.
From virtual showrooms to
Girgis:
The auto
industry
must meet
customers
where they
want to be
met.
FILE PHOTO
online test-drive booking forms and
the acceptance of electronic signatures
on purchase documents, panelists
agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic
has hastened the industry's
embrace of e-commerce.
Yet shoppers still want a human
connection. Customers are expressing
" purchase intent " online,
Policaro said, but want to visit the
dealership for a test drive, trade-in
appraisal or simply to " build a relationship
with us and feel confident
in their decision. "
Automakers and dealerships
that can best marry e-commerce
with traditional sales processes
in the so-called " omnichannel "
approach stand to gain the most as
car buying evolves, session attendees
were told.
" The name of the game is to be
able to meet the customer where
they want to be met, whether it's
online or offline, " said Matt Girgis,
managing director of Volvo Car
Canada.
Dealers have
learned that remote
selling, even in
tandem with traditional
approaches,
can be profitable,
Lvovich said.
Retailers have been
able to reduce the
number of salespeople,
especially with
lower inventory.
But another benefit
of digitalization
for all parties could
be the window it
opens to a customer's
wants and needs.
" The more insights you can gather
and the better you can personalize
their experience, " Girgis said,
" the better product you can provide
for them. " - ANC
Automotive News Canada - June 2021

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