Resistance to electric car sales lacks fuel

The electric car seems to still be a novelty to many lawmakers in Hartford, and novelties seldom play well in state capitals. Legislators need a software update. The electric car is no more a novelty than the internet. Once upon a time (2010), the iPad was seen as an example of Apple overreaching. And if everyone clung to tradition, you would have no alternative but to read this on newsprint.

The showdown between Tesla and traditional car dealerships draws powerful lobbyists from both camps. Both sides present valid arguments, which have only minimally evolved this many miles down the road.

We’ve heard the same debate for more than five years. Tesla wants to be able to sell their product directly to customers. Connecticut law prohibits that in an effort to shield dealerships.

The argument against Tesla goes something like this: Without the local dealership, there is not the same accountability for the customer. This year, the dealers are also underscoring the importance of “buying local” in the wake of the pandemic. The irony of that last point is that Tesla owners got their vehicles by shopping out of state.

Tesla makes the sales pitch that their price is not negotiated, and lacks fine print fees such as finance rates and service warranties. There’s also the matter of delivering a product with less harmful emissions.

The latest bill in Hartford, SB 127, would enable manufacturers of electric vehicles to acquire new or used-car dealer licenses in Connecticut under certain conditions. It was passed Wednesday by the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee.

The bipartisan support doesn’t mean the road ahead will be clear of traffic. There’s a lot at stake related to the state’s economic fortunes.

State Sen. Will Haskell, DWestport, the committee’s Senate chairman, noted Connecticut’s goal of putting half a million electric vehicles on the road by 2030, and the relatively scarce 13,000 that are currently registered in the state.

If jeopardizing the local dealership is a concern, there are also nuances to reducing the number of gas stations in the state. They are local businesses too, and this state leans heavily on gas taxes.

Those are lousy reasons to resist putting more electric cars on the road. Anyone with a vehicle has noticed than when demand for gas was low during the early stages of the pandemic, prices were slashed at some stations by more than half. Now that vaccines offer a map forward, the typical price is back to teetering at the $3-a-gallon mark.

The pandemic has also offered the possibility of an even healthier alternative than the electric car — driving less.

Lawmakers need to deliver the best legislation possible to protect the consumer, so we look forward to challenges to enhance the current bill. But it’s time to accept that if the electric car fails to deliver, the existing dealerships have nothing to fear. If we didn’t welcome competition, we’d all be driving Fords.

Ultimately, drivers are still behind the steering wheel.

But it’s time to accept that if the electric car fails to deliver, the existing dealerships have nothing to fear. If we didn’t welcome competition, we’d all be driving Fords.