(TestMiles) – Dealers poured money into EV tools and chargers, but shopper demand softened, leaving inventory, training costs, and uncertainty.
I keep coming back to one simple truth about the EV transition: whatever the industry promises, the dealership has to make it real. Not in a keynote. Not in a concept sketch. In a service bay on a Tuesday, with a customer who wants honest answers, a sales team that needs confidence, and equipment that has to work every time.
That’s why this moment matters. Dealers have been asked to invest early—often heavily—so they can sell and support electric vehicles at scale. But the demand curve hasn’t behaved the way the spreadsheets expected. In some markets it’s strong and stable. In others it’s hesitant, incentive-driven, or simply constrained by charging reality and monthly payment math. When that happens, the dealer becomes the shock absorber for the entire system…