- U.S. dealers heavily rely on after-sale services and products for revenue
- EV buyers are willing to see dealerships manage EV maintenance, for a subscription fee
- Study also found dealerships can still do more with EV education
EVs have lower maintenance needs than internal-combustion vehicles, but a new survey suggests that buyers may be interested in subscriptions for any maintenance they do require—helping dealers maintain this source of revenue even without oil changes and timing belt replacements.
Analytics firm Escalent looked at the dealership experience in its 2024 EVForward survey, including concerns by dealers that their business model, which currently relies more on maintenance and other after-sale services and products than vehicle sales themselves, would be affected by low-maintenance EVs.
2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E
Analysts found that customers were willing to let dealers manage the maintenance of their EVs, even at the lower level required. The majority of EV “intenders”—survey respondents identified by Escalent as being 15 times more likely to purchase an EV than the average new-car buyer—indicated they would be interested in a subscription plan for routine maintenance.
Brake replacement (82%) and tire replacement (84%) were the most popular options. EVs need new tires much more often than gasoline vehicles, partly because of their weight and torque—but tiremakers are working on it. Current EVs still need their friction brakes serviced like gasoline cars, but as regenerative braking gets stronger, EVs might not even need brake-pad replacement, as they’ll only be for emergency braking and the last few feet of a stop.
One thing that isn’t going away, though, is the need for consumer education—something the survey also emphasized. More than 80% of respondents said that having the dealer review proper maintenance would be very important in an EV purchase (only 62% reported dealers actually doing this) and almost 70% of EV intenders and 48% of EV owners said they would be interested in taking courses on topics like maximizing range and battery life.
While EV maintenance needs are typically far lower—helping to keep their five-year ownership cost below many gasoline cars, according to one study—higher insurance cost is a concern. Perhaps more automakers should step up and help assure that’s more affordable, too?
