Elon is 100% correct about traditional car dealerships wanting to torpedo EVs. Case in point: This horrible anti-EV dealership Vancouver KIA in Vancouver BC Canada:
From
https://www.facebook.com/groups/chevyvoltowners/permalink/968625799816712/
"A friend received this from a Kia dealer in Vancouver who is not authorized to sell the Soul EV. Shocking!
Hi,
Thank you for your interest in the Soul EV.
Are you interested because you think an EV will save you money, or because you believe it will be good for the environment? Because realistically, it will do neither. The Carbon footprint of making the electric battery is equivalent to driving the gas powered luxury Soul for 5 years, and the extra 8-10000 $ you will pay for an EV, would pay for gas in a 2.0 l GDI four cylinder for 7 years.
So again, whatever your buying motivation, savings or environment, at this point in time, the EV is a social / political statement and is good neither for your pocketbook, nor the environment.
Best Regards,
Phil Curtin
Internet Sales Manager
778.251.4200
Kia of Vancouver
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Follow up APOLOGY LETTER from Manager of the Dealership:
"Hi,
My name is Jason and I am one of the Sales Managers here at Kia Vancouver. That email your friend received is not a good sounding tone.
I do apologize to your friend that such an email was sent in the first place. If you could pass this on, that would be great.
There is some truth to the email though. A top of the line Kia Soul SX-L (gasoline powered) is about $30000, where as an EV soul will run north of $40000. However, the government just released an EV incentive as of today so it may help lower the cost to consumers to get into EV powered vehicles.
It is debatable how “environmental friendly” EV cars really are. Nickel is mined by big diesel powered machinery to gather materials to build batteries. Cars are shipped around the world using big ships running on fossil fuels. However, there is no point getting into this as it boils down to perspective with strong points on both ends.
The one thing I do like to ask potential EV customers myself is whether they believe that driving an EV will save them money in the long term. This is not true right now because the cost of an EV car compared to its gasoline counterpart is so much more expensive at the point of sale. Taking the Soul for example, a $10000 price difference does indeed buy you a lot of gas (e.g., $2000 per year on gas will get you 5 years of driving). Then we can take into consideration that gasoline cars are known and likely more reliable, regardless of the brand.
However, when it boils down to buying a car. It should only be the buyer’s views that matter. We as sales people are only here to guide and give information. Unfortunately, the tone of my salesman was very very poor. The exact same thing could have been said in a much more appropriate manner with less of a tone of “you shouldn’t buy an EV because blah blah blah blah”.
Lastly, we do not carry EV souls. Only two dealers in BC have the privilege of selling them. If you have any more general questions for me George, you may email or call me anytime. Send my apologies to your friend as well.
Best Regards,
Jason Wong
Pre-Owned & Internet Sales Manager
TEL: 604-326-6868
CELL: 778-386-5223 (text available)"
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