Energize EV Sales This Winter

Winter is a unique time to sell cars, especially in cold climates. This year promises to be an even more interesting time for dealers to move electrified metal. The existing EV incentives on both new and used cars may not continue indefinitely with a new administration coming to Washington, D.C., in January. And many shoppers may still remember one sensational story about EVs being stranded in a Chicago cold snap last winter.

It’s a fact that EV range suffers the most in frigid temperatures as do gas cars. But you can leave a few gallons of gas in a car on your lot for weeks, cold or not, and it’ll start right up for a potential buyer. EVs can hold a charge for varying amounts of time but if left in the cold too long, they’ll die just like a smartphone.

Dealers in populous cold weather states are actually primed for EV sales this winter. In the recent CDK Dealers Face the EV Transition white paper, dealers in places like the upper Midwest and New England, where cold winters are a reality, were the most excited about selling EVs. They saw the most EV interest from their customers. Knowing that, here’s a look at several ways your Sales staff can prepare to sell EVs during winter.

Get Your Demos Ready

EVs can be terrific winter vehicles. They have impressive electric heaters, many have heated seats and steering wheels, and their electric motors’ precise torque delivery enables for fantastic traction on slippery terrain. Those are all great selling points but first, your Sales team needs to get customers behind the wheel of one.

The days of limited inventory caused by the pandemic-induced supply chain shortage are mostly over, especially for many electric models. Consider dedicating a few inventory vehicles as demos that can be kept close to your showroom. This way, you don’t have to worry about a dead battery (more on that in a minute) just before a test drive. Make it part of your staff’s routine to plug these vehicles in before they turn out the lights at the end of the day.

One of the most important things to educate customers about is the ability to precondition an EV before they head off on a winter journey. Simply put, you need to warm up the car before you unplug it, which you don’t do to a gas car. Your staff can show customers how to access the manufacturer’s app with a spare phone or tablet connected to the demo and then warm up the vehicle before the test drive begins.

It’s the EV version of a remote start. And it can be done in a warm, closed garage.

It’s best to precondition the vehicle while it’s still plugged in so it’ll draw energy from the grid instead of the vehicle’s onboard battery. Be sure to tell consumers that this won’t have an effect on the vehicle’s range and it’ll save them money.

The vehicle should be outfitted with all-weather floor mats too. This is an easy way to market this high-margin (but genuinely useful) accessory to your customers.

Educate Consumers About EV Charging in Winter

Your customers may recall a Chicago incident that made headlines nationwide last year. There’s no need to gloss over this with your customers. First, it was an outlier with dozens of rideshare drivers who created the issue, not everyday drivers. And preparation can help EV owners avoid even outlier scenarios.

Extreme cold weather and electrification don’t go too well together and it would be disingenuous to mislead a customer who drives hundreds of miles on a daily basis in winter into thinking differently. EVs eat through range faster in cold weather and take longer to charge.

But for the average person who commutes for less than an hour a day, EV range in winter should be a nonissue.

Most EV drivers can easily charge their vehicles at home, which is the ideal scenario. But ChargeLab found in early 2024 that well over half of EV owners used public chargers on a regular basis. Public chargers can be convenient in a pinch but are expensive.

This is why having a needs assessment will be crucial for your Sales staff. Ask about your customers’ commute. Ask them where they plan to park overnight. These simple questions could make EVs considerably more appealing depending on their answers.

Don’t Forget About the Rest of Your Fleet

No matter where you keep the rest of your inventory — whether it’s on-site or in a remote outlot — you’ll need to keep an eye on battery charge levels. This is, unfortunately, a downside to electric cars. No matter the weather, their batteries will slowly lose charge even when left unused. This happens quicker when it’s cold.

Demos are an easy way for walk-ins to get the EV experience. If a customer sets an appointment for a specific EV in inventory, it should be fully charged — or as close to fully charged — when they arrive.

Not only is it inconvenient to discover that EVs left in inventory are out of charge but it could also get quite costly. EVs with a fully depleted battery will “brick.”

Reviving a dead EV isn’t as easy as it is to fill up the tank on a gas-fueled vehicle. At the very least, you’ll need to have someone hook up a portable charger to one and then limp it to a proper charger. The vehicle may also need to be checked out by your Service department. Suffice it to say they have better and more profitable things to do than revive EVs that have been sitting for too long.

The best way to handle this is to make EV charging part of your dealership’s routine. Have your porters periodically check vehicles and set a baseline, like a minimum 50% state of charge, before they get plugged into a charger for a top-off.

Explain Incentives

The current EV incentives have been in place for a few years now and it’s likely your staff is very familiar with them. But considering today’s headlines and social media, expect EV shoppers to be curious, and perhaps confused, about the state of incentives. There may be a rush to take advantage of the federal program if people think it’ll go away in the near future. Assure them about their eligibility and confirm that they’ll receive the full incentive at delivery.

Regardless of winter and changing political winds, there’s no reason winter should stop you from selling EVs.