Car Dealers on Why Some Customers Hesitate With EVs

Auto dealers across many parts of the country say electric vehicles are becoming too hard a sell for buyers worried about the range, reliability and price of these models.

When Paul LaRochelle heard Ford Motor was coming out with an electric pickup truck, the dealer was excited about the prospects for his business.

“We thought we could build a million of them and sell them,” said LaRochelle, a vice president at Sheehy Auto Stores, which sells vehicles from a dozen brands in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

The reality has been less positive. On Sheehy’s car lots, LaRochelle says there is a six- to 12-month supply of EVs, compared with a month of gasoline-powered vehicles.

With automakers set to release a barrage of new electric models in the coming years, concerns are mounting among auto retailers about whether the technology will have broader appeal given that many customers are still reluctant to make the switch.

Battery-powered models have been piling up on car lots, dealers say, as EV sales growth has slowed in the U.S. this year. Car companies have been offering a combination of discounts and lower interest-rate deals in an effort to juice demand. But it hasn’t been enough, because buyer reticence extends beyond the price tag, dealers say.

“I’m not hearing the consumer confidence in the technology,” said Mary Rice, dealer principal at Toyota of Greensboro in North Carolina. “People aren’t beating down the door to buy these things, and they all have a different excuse why they aren’t buying one.”

Customers cite concerns about vehicles burning through a battery charge faster in cold weather or not being able to travel as far as they expected on a single charge, dealers say. Potential buyers also worry that chargers aren’t as readily accessible as gas stations or might be broken.

Franchise dealerships fear that the push to roll out new models will inundate them with hard-to-sell vehicles. Research firm S&P Global Mobility said there are 56 EV models for sale in the U.S. this year, and the number is expected to nearly double to 100 next year.

“I start to think, you know maybe we should just all pump the brakes a little bit,” Rice said.

A group of dealers expressed their concerns about the government’s role in pushing electric vehicles in a letter last month to President Biden.

A Toyota Motor spokesman said the majority of dealers have become “increasingly more confident in their ability to sell Toyota EV products.”

At Ford, the company’s electric-vehicle sales are rising, including for its F-150 Lightning pickup, but demand isn’t evenly spread across the country, according to a spokesman.

Dealers say that after selling an EV, they sometimes hear complaints about charging and the vehicles not always meeting their advertised range. In some cases, customers seek to return them to the dealer shortly after buying them.

“We have a steady number of clients that have attempted to or flat out returned their car,” said Sheehy’s LaRochelle.

While EVs remain a small but rapidly expanding part of the new-car market, the pace of growth has slowed this year. Electric-vehicle sales increased 48% in the first 11 months, compared with a 69% jump during the same period in 2022, according to Motor Intelligence. Sales remain concentrated in a few states, with California accounting for the largest chunk, S&P Global Mobility data found.

The cooling growth has raised broader questions in the industry about whether car companies face a temporary hurdle or a longer-term demand challenge. Automakers have invested billions of dollars to bring more EV models to the market, and many analysts and car executives say they remain optimistic that sales will continue to expand.

“Although the rate of growth has slowed recently, EV demand is clearly moving in the right direction,” said General Motors Chief Executive Mary Barra on a recent conference call with analysts. A combination of more affordable model options and better charging infrastructure would help encourage more people to buy electric vehicles, she said.

There are also varying views within the dealer community about how quickly buyers will adopt the technology.In hot spots for electric-vehicle demand, such as Los Angeles, dealers say their battery-powered models are some of their top sellers. Those popular EV markets also tend to have more mature public charging networks.

Selling an electric car or truck outside of those demand centres is proving more difficult.

Longtime EV owner Carmella Roehrig thought she was ready to go full-electric and sold her backup gasoline vehicle. But after the 62-year-old North Carolina resident found herself stranded last year in a rural area of South Carolina, she changed her mind. Roehrig’s Tesla Model S got a flat tire, but none of the stores in the area carried tires for a Tesla. She ended up paying a worker at a nearby shop to drive her home.

Roehrig still has her Tesla but bought a pickup truck for long road trips.

Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment.

“I have these conversations with people who say we’ll all be in EVs in 15 years. I say: ‘I’m not so sure. I’ve tried to do it,’” Roehrig said. “I think you need a gas backup.”

Customers who want to ditch their gas vehicle for environmental reasons are sometimes hesitant, said Mickey Anderson, president of Baxter Auto Group, which owns dealerships in Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado.

“We’re in the Colorado Springs market. If this is your sole mode of transportation, and you’re in a market in extremes of elevation and temperature, the actual range is very limited,” Anderson said. “It makes it extremely impractical.”

Dealers representing around 4,000 stores across the U.S. signed the letter in November addressed to Biden, saying the administration’s proposed auto-emissions regulations designed to promote electric-vehicle sales are unrealistic. The signatories ranged from stores owned by family businesses to publicly held giants such as AutoNation and Lithia Motors.

“Some customers are in the market for electric vehicles, and we are thrilled to sell them. But the majority of customers are simply not ready to make the change,” the letter said.

Some carmakers are pushing back EV-rollout plans. GM said in mid-October that it would delay the opening of an electric pickup plant by a year to late 2025. In response to weaker-than-expected consumer demand, Ford said in late October that it would defer $12 billion of planned spending on electric-vehicle investment.

Since September, dealers on average took more than two months to sell an EV, compared with 40 days for all vehicles, according to car-shopping website Edmunds.

While discounts have helped boost sales of some electric vehicles, they also have led to repercussions for some current owners because it reduces the value of their vehicles, dealers say.

“Most people don’t have the confidence to buy an EV and know what it will be worth in 10-15 years,” said Rice from the Toyota dealership.

It may take some time for the industry to adjust because it is still in an early stage of switching to electric vehicles, Sheehy’s LaRochelle said.

“We’re asking for this market to grow organically,” he said.

Pure Amazon, an A&K Sanctuary, has officially launched its voyages into the 21,000-square-kilometre Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve.

Designed for just 22 guests, the new vessel positions itself at the high end of wilderness travel, offering quiet, immersive, and attentive experiences with a one-to-one staff-to-guest ratio. The focus is on proximity to wildlife and landscape, without the crowds that have made parts of the Amazon feel like tourism has arrived before the welcome mat.

Where Architecture Meets the River

The design direction comes from Milan-based architect Adriana Granato, who has reimagined the boat’s interiors as part gallery, part observatory. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame rainforest scenes that shift hour to hour, and every space holds commissioned artworks by Peruvian artists.

The dining room’s centrepiece, Manto de Escamas de Paiche by Silvana Pestana, uses bronze and clay formations that mirror the scale patterns of the Amazon’s giant fish. Pestana’s works throughout the vessel reference environmental fragility, especially the scars left by illegal gold mining.

In each suite, hand-painted kené textiles by Shipibo-Konibo master artist Deysi Ramírez depict sacred geometry in natural dyes. Cushions by the BENEAI Collective feature 20 unique embroidered compositions, supporting Indigenous women artists and keeping traditional techniques alive in a meaningful, non-performative way.

Wildlife Without the Tame Script

Days on board are structured around early and late river expeditions led by naturalist guides. Guests may encounter pink river dolphins cutting through morning mist, three-toed sloths moving like they’re part of the slow cinema movement, and black caimans appearing at night like something from your childhood nightmares.

The prehistoric hoatzin appears along riverbanks, giant river otters hunt in packs, and scarlet macaws behave like the sky belongs to them. The arapaima — the same fish inspiring Pestana’s artwork — occasionally surfaces like an apparition.

A Regional Culinary Lens

The culinary program is led by a team from Iquitos with deep knowledge of Amazonian produce.

Nightly five-course tasting menus lean into local ingredients rather than performing them. Expect dishes like caramelised plantain with river prawns, hearts of palm with passionfruit, and Peruvian chocolate paired with fruits that would be unpronounceable if you encountered them in a supermarket aisle.

A pisco-led bar menu incorporates regional botanicals, including coca leaf and dragon’s blood resin.

A Model of Conservation-First Tourism

Pure Amazon’s conservation approach goes beyond the familiar “offset and walk away” playbook. Through A&K Philanthropy, the vessel’s operations support Indigenous community-led economic initiatives, including sustainable fibre harvesting and honey production in partnership with Amanatari.

Guests also visit FORMABIAP, a bilingual teacher training program supporting cultural and language preservation across several Indigenous communities. Notably, the program enables young women to continue their education while remaining with their families — a rarity in remote regions.

Low-intensity lighting, heat pump technology, and automated systems reduce disturbance to the reserve’s nocturnal wildlife.

The Experience Itself

Itineraries span three, four, or seven nights. Mornings often begin with quiet exploration along mirrorlike tributaries; afternoons allow for spa treatments or time on the open-air deck. Evenings shift into long dinners and soft-lit river watching as the rainforest begins its nightly soundtrack.

Granato describes the vessel as “a mysterious presence on the water,” its light calibrated to resemble fire glow rather than a foreign object imposing itself on the dark.

It is, in other words, slow travel done with precision.

Car Dealers on Why Some Customers Hesitate With EVs

Concern about electric vehicles’ appeal is mounting as some customers show a reluctance to switch

Pure Amazon has begun journeys deep into Peru’s Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, combining contemporary design, Indigenous craftsmanship and intimate wildlife encounters in one of the richest ecosystems on Earth.