- Jul 9, 2026
- 48
- 36
- Awards
- 3
- First Name
- Kenny
I think the biggest takeaway is that customers are becoming a lot less loyal to one powertrain and a lot more sensitive to what makes sense for their actual situation.
Gas jumps and suddenly EV searches go up. EV depreciation gets heavy and now a used EV can look like a tremendous value. At the same time, plenty of people still look at charging, range, insurance and resale and decide a hybrid or ICE vehicle makes more sense for them.
From the dealership side, I don’t think the answer is to bet everything on EVs or fight against them either. It is having the right mix of inventory and being able to explain the tradeoffs honestly.
What I’m seeing more and more is that the customer really wants someone to help answer: What actually fits my life?
How far do I drive? Can I charge at home? What will it cost me to own? What happens when I trade it? Is the incentive strong enough to make the numbers work?
That is probably where hybrids continue to have a strong lane too. They solve a lot of the fuel-cost concern without asking the customer to completely change how they use the vehicle.
To me, the winners are going to be the dealers who can sell all three without turning it into an EV versus gas argument. Give the customer the real numbers, the real tradeoffs, and let the right vehicle win.
Gas jumps and suddenly EV searches go up. EV depreciation gets heavy and now a used EV can look like a tremendous value. At the same time, plenty of people still look at charging, range, insurance and resale and decide a hybrid or ICE vehicle makes more sense for them.
From the dealership side, I don’t think the answer is to bet everything on EVs or fight against them either. It is having the right mix of inventory and being able to explain the tradeoffs honestly.
What I’m seeing more and more is that the customer really wants someone to help answer: What actually fits my life?
How far do I drive? Can I charge at home? What will it cost me to own? What happens when I trade it? Is the incentive strong enough to make the numbers work?
That is probably where hybrids continue to have a strong lane too. They solve a lot of the fuel-cost concern without asking the customer to completely change how they use the vehicle.
To me, the winners are going to be the dealers who can sell all three without turning it into an EV versus gas argument. Give the customer the real numbers, the real tradeoffs, and let the right vehicle win.
