Benefits of Franchised Dealers

• For over 20 years, New York law has required that new car dealers be franchised dealers. 
• The franchise system benefits consumers:
  • • Franchised dealers compete on price.
  • • Franchised dealers create a market for used cars by taking trade-ins.
  • • Franchised dealers maintain parts inventory and trained personnel for repairs, warranty services, and recalls.
  • • Franchised dealers represent customers during disputes with the manufacturers.
• Franchised dealers are Main Street businesses that benefit the community:
  • • Franchised dealers employ, on average, 65 people per dealership.
  • • Franchised dealers provide good-paying jobs.
  • • Franchised dealers maintain their facilities and pay property taxes.
  • • Franchised dealers support local community organizations. 
• Franchised dealers sell zero emission vehicles, and more models are available to sell each year.
  • • Volkswagen will be all electric by 2026; Volvo will be all electric by 2030; GM will be all electric by 2035.

Direct Sales Will Hurt New York

• Billionaires versus Main Street:
  • • Any electric vehicle manufacturer can sell vehicles in New York, so long as they play by the rules that everyone else must follow.
  • • Direct sales push is an attempt by billionaires to obtain an unnecessary exemption to the law. 
  • • Factory-direct sales are not more efficient. Efficiency is not what automakers looking to bypass the franchise system are after. Their goal is to eliminate competition and divert profits away from Main Street businesses plus the communities they represent.
• Climate change is not the central focus of electric vehicle manufacturers pushing for direct sales; rather, it’s profits.
  • • One of the biggest impediments to selling electric vehicles is that the charging station infrastructure is lacking.
  • • Tesla’s charging stations can only be used by Tesla vehicle unless a vehicle owner purchases an adaptor. In that case, the vehicle owner still cannot use a Tesla supercharger.
  • • All other electric vehicles utilize the same charging port.
  • • Throughout Europe, Tesla’s Model 3 is equipped with a universal charging port, not the proprietary Tesla port. 
  • • If Tesla’s concern was the environment, it would develop a port that could be universally used.