Fixed Ops Journal - December 2019 - F14

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

ELECTRIC COMPANY

Fixing EVs requires big dealer investments in tooling, charging equipment, training

ALYSHA WEBB
foj@autonews.com

s sales of electric vehicles grow, so do
the demands on dealerships to maintain and repair them. Meeting these
expectations requires substantial
dealer investment in special tools, equipment,
processes and technician training.
Dealerships are getting some help from automakers as they prepare to work on ever-increasing numbers of EVs. But many say they
are concerned about how providing EV service will affect their fixed ops profits.
Nissan dealerships in the United States have
sold the Leaf EV since 2010. To work on the
car, service departments must have the right
kind of lift. They need a
hoist to remove the Leaf's
high-voltage battery safely. Some shops also buy a
forklift designed to lift
heavier EV equipment
such as battery packs, says
JeSean Hopkins, Nissan
North America's senior
Hopkins: Special manager of EV infrastructure and sales operations.
training needed
That's just the beginning. Service departments
must create dedicated
bays in their shops for EV
service. EV work requires
charging stations. Some
service technicians work
only on electric vehicles;
all techs who deal with
EVs require special gloves
Goddu: Cutting
and eye equipment.
charging costs
Ted Christiano, general
manager of Boulder Nissan, in Colorado, says
he has spent about $110,000 to prepare his
service department for EV work. The expenditure has been worthwhile, he insists.
"The amount of volume we do more than
makes up for the investment," Christiano told
Fixed Ops Journal.
He notes that of the 682 new vehicles his
university-town dealership sold in 2018, 312
were Leafs.

Keep it simple
Ford Motor Co. says a typical Ford dealership can expect to spend $13,000 on repair
equipment for EVs. David Johnson, Ford's
global executive director of service engineerPAGE 14

DECEMBER 2019

FIXED OPS JOURNAL ILLUSTRATION

EV shopping list

Dealership service departments that
maintain and repair electric vehicles
need special equipment, including:
 Level 2 240-volt battery charger
 Direct-current battery charger
 Lift and hoist for EV-dedicated
service bay
 Forklift
 Special gloves and eye equipment
for service technicians
 Specific tools to work on each EV
model

ing operations, says the biggest-ticket items
are a lift table to remove and install the heavy
battery, and a recovery charger.
"We are trying to make it as simple and easy as
possible for our dealerships so they don't have
to invest a significant amount," Johnson says.
Georg Goddu, lead for aftersales strategy on
Ford's Team Edison, a division dedicated to
EV planning, adds that the automaker has
made a "concerted effort" to allow dealerships to use existing tools whenever possible.
Charging stations are the most expensive
item dealerships must install to service elec-

tric vehicles. They come in several versions.
Level 2, or 240-volt, chargers are slower but
less expensive than DC fast chargers.
Goddu says Ford worked with its supplier to
reduce by 35 percent the cost of the charging
stations its dealerships are required to buy.
The chargers work for other automakers' EVs
as well.
Randy Haron, general manager of Haron
Jaguar Land Rover, in Fresno, Calif., says he spent
$100,000 to prepare the
new dealership to sell and
service EVs. Half of that
amount was for seven
charging stations - two
fast chargers and five Level
2 chargers.
The Jaguar I-Pace is the Haron: $100K for
only EV the dealership EV preparation
sells, but more electric
models are coming soon, Haron says. "We
chose to add more [charging stations] than
necessary, based on the future needs of our
customers and the adoption of EVs," he says.
Nissan dealerships are required to install
Level 2 chargers, Hopkins says. The number of
chargers required by the automaker depends
see REPAIRS, next page

Fixed Ops Journal - December 2019

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