If you drive an electric company car that is wrapped with your advertising that says “EVs are Welcome Here,” have a unique EV website and there is a charging station in front of your tire store, you’re off to a great start to letting customers know you offer EV service.
There is even more you can do. Let me tell you what some shops we have trained in HEV and EV service and repair have done.
After the investment of training their techs, they needed to start working on xEVs right away. (That term, xEV, means any vehicle that has a high-voltage system.) There are several categories of xEVs: plug-in hybrid, battery electric, battery electric with a small gas engine to extend the vehicle’s range, fuel cell and plug-in fuel cell. In this order; HEV, PHEV, EV or BEV, EV-RE, FCEV and FCPEV. To keep it simple, we will use xEV.
Once they decided which xEVs to work on, they made a plan, created a budget and expected a one-to-two year pay-back period. Then they created a website.
Automotive Career Development Center (ACDC) owns the website, www.WorcesterEVs.com. I bought it years ago and will be launching it this year as we venture into the retail Tesla service business.
If the name of our business was “Van Batenburg’s Tire and Service Center” and we were located in Ogden, Utah, we would have bought the web name “www.OgdenEVservice.com,” created a logo and launched it with a “coming soon” sign on the web. The logo would say “Ogden EV Service Powered by Van Batenburg’s Tire and Service.”
Have some fun with this process.
About four weeks before you go live, make sure your techs have just returned from the their xEV training. Learning online is very popular, but if you are not trained in high-voltage systems, web-based training is not enough.
A hands-on class where the technician works on the xEV and doesn’t just watch someone else do it will get them over the fear of getting electrocuted. The fear is real, until you overcome that scary feeling via safety training and hands-on practice.
You can go to public EV events to promote your shop and credentials. Getting your techs ASE L3-certified is a bonus.
Join Plug In America. It’s a non-profit organization with a mission “to accelerate the transition to affordable and accessible plug-in vehicles and charging through education, advocacy and research.” With their help, you can hold EV events at your place of business.
If you are not for this change, don’t expect your staff to buy into it. This one statement may change your mind and theirs: “If your best customer trades in their car for an xEV, you have lost them.” Let that sink in. In 2023, 1.2 million all-electric vehicles were sold in the United States, which was a significant increase from the previous year. This was a record-breaking year for electric vehicles sold in the country. In 2023, EVs made up 7.6% of new car sales in the U.S. (2024 numbers were not available when this article was written.)
Service writers will need training, too. ACDC bought a new 2019 Kia Niro EV and when the 12 volt-battery needed replacement under warranty, I dropped it off at a local Kia dealership.
Once I entered the less-than-friendly service department, the service advisor thought a lecture was needed about what a bad idea it was to buy a pure EV. (I’m not sure what his motivation was, but clearly he needs to make his living elsewhere.)
The addition of xEV service is not without its challenges. But not doing anything is not a plan. It is being stuck. Give some thought and see where that takes your company.
Betting on xEVs going away is a foolish thought. Getting into it now when the warranty on many xEVs is ending may be great timing. Adding more car count and taking care of all your customers is always a safe bet. Many tire dealerships will take a wait-and-see attitude. What if the competitor down the street gets ahead of you?
