Headline photo courtesy of Will Cross

Post by Barry Kresch

Grassroots Momentum for the EV Freedom Bill

The atmosphere was electric as about 100 EV enthusiasts came to Westport from all over the state for a press conference supporting The EV Freedom Bill, legislative bill number SB 127. Lame puns aside, I have been part of this EV Club for 9 years, and this issue feels like it has been around for most of them, but today felt different. The grassroots energy was palpable in a way that it hadn’t been in the past. Perhaps it is due to Tesla registrations having grown to almost 6,000 in the state. Or the excitement of new, really cool, EV companies entering the market also looking to sell direct. Or energized engagement on the political front.

This bill, which in earlier guises had come to be referred to as the “Tesla Bill,” would permit EV-exclusive manufacturers that do not have an existing franchise dealer network to open stores in CT. At today’s event, Tesla was joined by Rivian and Lucid. Others are expected to adopt this business model or, more to the point, this or some other new model not envisaged in the existing dealer franchise laws that were written almost 100 years ago.

The bill also requires that companies opening stores have a sustainable model for servicing vehicles that are sold here.

The Way Forward In A Changing World

Passing this bill would be a tangible step toward supporting innovation. The industry is changing. Fissures are showing in the traditional automobile business, despite their actions to forestall competition by keeping new EV companies out of the state. 17% of Cadillac dealers opted to drop the franchise rather than embrace GM’s making this its centerpiece EV brand. Volvo announced an aggressive timeline of moving to an all-electric lineup by 2030 and moving EV sales online in the short-term. We don’t know the fine print of how this changes the relationship between the dealers and the manufacturer. If sales are online, do the dealers ever take title to the vehicle? And if they don’t, are they still a dealer? We reached out to Volvo for elucidation but have not received a response. We are guardedly optimistic that these changes are signs of a more serious effort to sell EVs.

SB 127 was introduced by Sen. Will Haskell, who organized the press conference, and Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, both of whom represent local districts. There were a number of other state and local officials present. This was the speaker order lineup:

• Senator Will Haskell (SB 127 co-sponsor)
• Barry Kresch, President of the EV Club of CT
• Rep. Jonathan Steinberg (SB 127 co-sponsor)
• Jim Marpe – Westport First Selectman
• Jeff Curry – Lucid Motors
• Kaitlin Monaghan – Rivian
• Lori Brown – League of Conservation Voters
• Daniel McInerney – International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
• Senator Bob Duff – Majority Leader
• Former Senator Art Linares

Paul Braren has posted video of all of the speakers on his blog.

Journalist David Pogue recorded remarks that were played to the group. A schedule conflict prevented him from appearing in person but you can hear what he had to say. (His remarks are just short of 4 minutes.)

The presentations took place at the Westport Train Station in front of a depot building with a solar array that powers the building and 4 adjacent EV charging stations. These were the first solar-powered public chargers in the state. They were installed in 2012, which is when I met the club founder, Leo Cirino, and became a member.

Model Y and Lucid Air – charging stations are to the right of the building by the white Chevy Volt

Long Way To Go

In his remarks, Sen. Haskell noted that the state had a long way to go to reach its goal of 500,000 EVs in the fleet by 2030. I’ve written a lot about that and noted that given where we are today, 13,800 EVs, it will be necessary to maintain a 49% compound annual growth rate to get there. This may sound high, and it is, but it is actually worse than it sounds because this figure is growth in net registrations. Each year, there are new vehicles added to the file, but there is also turnover from vehicles leaving the file. In 2020, the turnover was the equivalent of 52% of the vehicles that were new to the file. So from an acquisition perspective, it means we need to double each year. Without SB 127, we’ll never get there.

There are many that we need to thank for a successful event including members of the EV Club and the Tesla Owners Club, not only for coming, but also for reaching out to our legislators; the public officials who support this bill; the IBEW; and Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid.

As encouraging as it was to see this level of support, it’s not over. The bill will be called for a committee vote on Wednesday. If it passes, then it goes before the full chamber. It feels like we’re only to the quarter-finals. We will update this space as we move up the brackets.

Tesla Model X in chrome wrap. Model Y on the right.

Lucid Air Interior, Who are those masked men – Barry Kresch and Bruce Becker getting set for the presser, Senator Haskell speaking about the bill (Majority Leader Duff in the background)

One final note: We have been asking people to tell their legislators they support this bill. That doesn’t stop with the press conference or even the committee vote. It is important they hear from you. Tesla has set up an “engage” page for CT that enables a 1-click message or the opportunity to customize it for yourself. You may have to set up an account. You don’t need to be a Tesla owner to do that.

Press Conference on March 22 for SB 127

The office of CT Senator Will Haskell is organizing a press conference for Monday, March 22. It will be held outdoors at the Westport Train Station (New Haven-bound side) at 10 AM.

UPDATE: LUCID VEHICLE (pictured above) EXPECTED TO BE BROUGHT TO THE PRESS CONFERENCE.

All EV owners are invited to join us and spread the message that consumers should be able to buy the EV that fits their lifestyle and budget, and be able to do so in CT.

SB 127 would allow manufacturers of exclusively EVs that do not have a franchise dealer network to open stores in CT, which is one of a handful of states that currently prohibit this. Check out this video made by Will Cross of the CT Tesla Owners Club.

Even if you can’t join us, please write to your state senator and representative and tell them you support this bill.

Tesla has put up a page that enables one-click contact for your rep. (You may need to create an account.)

This is an earlier post that goes into more detail about the details of why we support this.

SB 127 – Permit EV Exclusive Manufacturers to Sell Direct in CT

A virtual public hearing was held yesterday by the legislature for this bill. Both written and oral comments were solicited.

Of the 76 written comments and a full day of Zoom testimony, every consumer that testified was in favor of passing this bill. Not really a surprise that consumers support a consumer-friendly bill. It is still opposed by dealerships and the OEMs. Nothing has changed.

It is difficult to read the tea leaves regarding the impact of testimony, pro or con. The bill has to pass a committee vote and then be called for a vote in both chambers. We are encouraged by the large number of comments submitted and the support we are receiving.

Judging by the response in the testimony, constituents are sending a message: protecting the environment is important and consumer choice is important, more important than protecting outdated laws.

Special thanks to Senator Haskell and Representative Steinberg who submitted the bill, as well as Representatives Wood and Michel who came on board as co-sponsors.

This is a link to the full (7.5 hours) video which is posted to the Transportation Committee’s YouTube Channel.

Some relevant time-stamps:

Tesla – 1:29:58

Lucid – 5:13:56

Rivian – 6:39:27

Senator Will Haskell (bill sponsor) – 2:30:19

Mike Liebow (Tesla Owners Club) – 5:30:46 – And check out his pointed comments here

Leadership of EV Club CT:

Analiese Paik – 5:35:42

Paul Braren – 6:52:13

Barry Kresch – 7:10:40

Beats Netflix!

Thanks to all who were involved in this effort. And let’s keep at it.

Paul Braren also wrote a detailed and thoughtful piece on his blog.

SB 127 – Permits Direct Sales of EVs

SB 127, the bill permitting EV-exclusive manufacturers that do not have an existing dealer network to sell directly to open stores and service centers in CT is scheduled for a public hearing on Friday, Feb. 19th, beginning at 10 AM. We encourage everyone to submit written or oral testimony. Instructions and link to register below.

*TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2021

The Transportation Committee will hold a public hearing on Friday February 19, 2021 at 10:00 A.M. via Zoom.  The public hearing will be recorded and can be viewed via YouTube Live.  In addition, the public hearing may be recorded and broadcast live on CT-N.com.  People who wish to testify via Zoom must register using the On-line Testimony Registration Form or copy this link into your browser https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2SAYBsW_SQyu5CD7jU3VGA.  Registration will close on Thursday February 18, 2021 at 3:00 P.M.  Speaker order of approved registrants will be posted on the Transportation Committee website.  If you do not have internet access, you may provide testimony via telephone.  To register to testify by phone, call the Phone Registrant Line at (860) 240-0590 to leave your contact information.  Please email written testimony in PDF format to tratestimony@cga.ct.gov.  Testimony should clearly state testifier name and related bill information.  The Committee requests that testimony be limited to matters related to the items on the Agenda.  The first hour of the hearing is reserved for Elected and Public Officials.  Speakers will be limited to three minutes of testimony.  The Committee encourages witnesses to submit a written statement and to condense oral testimony to a summary of that statement.  All public hearing testimony, written and spoken, is public information. As such, it will be made available on the CGA website and indexed by internet search engines.

SB 718 – A Moratorium on New Fossil-Fuel Power Plants

SB 718 – This bill imposes a moratorium on building new fossil-fuel power plants. The immediate threat is the proposed Killingly natural gas power plant, which has already been issued some of the required permits by DEEP. We ask everyone to call as described below.

The Energy & Technology Committee has not raised SB 718, Senator Cohen’s bill to establish a moratorium on new fossil fuel plants. We need to show strong support for this by calling the Energy & Technology Committee TODAY (Thursday, February 11) and urging they raise this bill. The last day the Committee can raise this bill is Tuesday Feb 16, and tomorrow and Monday are state holidays, so today is the day to put on the pressure.

Here’s what to do:

Call (860) 240‑0430 – Very likely you will leave a message.

“My name is (YOUR NAME), I am calling from (YOUR TOWN), I am calling to urge that the Energy & Technology Committee raise Senate Bill 718 as a Committee Bill. We are facing a climate emergency, yet fossil fuel power plants are still being proposed and approved here in Connecticut. This bill would establish a moratorium on fossil fuel power plants, and it is crucial that the Committee discuss this important topic. Thank you.”

Club hosts Roger Kuhns Presenting a Proposal for a Federal Carbon Tax

The presentation has been posted to the EV Club YouTube Channel. Some key points below:

There have been numerous acts passed, studies conducted, and priorities articulated over the past 25 years or so, many of them with good ideas, but that hasn’t translated into commensurate progress on reducing emissions.

The targets the state has set are ambitious. They include include zero emissions from the power sector by 2040 and an 80% reduction in statewide emissions by 2050. But these are goals and don’t always get translated into actual policy with the speed that our climate emergency requires. We are not going to achieve them unless we stop investing in natural gas, push harder on renewables (including replacing Millstone with renewables when it goes offline), along with battery storage, and, oh yeah, lots more EVs.

Watch for yourself and let us know what you think.

.

This is a copy of the statewide EV Program straw proposal that the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has released. Public comments are being accepted until Jan. 29. Sorry, but this is not downloadable from our website.

17-12-03RE04 Straw Proposal

Direct Sales of Electric Vehicles (EVs) Should Be Permitted in CT

Post by Barry Kresch

Governor Lamont has signed onto the Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI), a regional cap and invest plan. At the same time, the state is falling behind the goals set forth in the Multi-State Zero Emission Vehicle Action Plan. The time has come to permit direct sales of EVs in CT.

Consumers deserve to come first and should be able to freely choose EVs that fit their lifestyles, needs, and budgets to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and more rapidly transition to a zero-carbon economy.

Outdated dealer franchise laws have been used as protectionism to prevent Tesla and other new EV manufacturers from opening stores in CT.

The EV Club is behind a new act, The EV Freedom Bill, that has been submitted to the legislature. It proposes that manufacturers that produce exclusively electric vehicles and have no existing franchised dealer network be permitted to sell their vehicles directly to the consumer. The definition of “sell” is inclusive. It encompasses sales, leasing, delivery, and service. It is important to specify these components. For example, even though Tesla has gained the right to lease (and conduct test drives) at its Milford service center, customers still have to go to New York to pick up their vehicles. (Even residents of the eastern part of the state must go to NY – they are not permitted to avail themselves of Tesla facilities in RI or MA.) The proposed bill also allows for new “ownership” models, such as subscription. The world is changing.

The bill obligates manufacturers to meet existing consumer protection laws (i.e. lemon laws) or regulations and to have an adequate plan to service their vehicles within the state.

Multi-State ZEV Action Plan

The state of CT is a signatory to the Multi-State ZEV Action Plan. This plan commits to getting 150,000 EVs on the road by 2025 and 500,000, about 20% of the fleet, by 2030. There were 12,624 as of July 1, 2020. That means we would need a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 47.29% to hit the 2030 number, which translates to the state being in a pretty big hole. The chart below tracks needed CAGR for each data point I have since 2017. In this case, a rising line is a bad thing. (An updated number for January 1 is due to be reported soon.)

The ZEV Action Plan sets a goal but has no enforcement mechanism. It consequently relies on legislators, regulators, and citizens to make good decisions in order to get us there. The EV Freedom Bill is something that can have real near-term impact. Unlike other measures, such as purchase incentives, this will not cost the state any money. To the contrary, opening the state to innovative EV business models will increase buyer choice while positively contributing to public health, the achievement of our stated ZEV and emission-reduction goals, while generating revenue.

Opposition From Entrenched Interests

The roadblock to direct sales has been the dealership franchise laws. These laws, dating to the 1930’s, were passed at the time to protect independent business people who were opening dealerships to retail and service the products of an affiliated manufacturer. That was the manufacturers’ preferred method of expansion. But independent businesses, having gone to the trouble of establishing a market locally, sought to protect themselves from the possibility that an affiliated manufacturer would open up across the street and put them out of business. At the risk of repetition, the point was dealers seeking protection from their own affiliated manufacturers. These laws have now been re-purposed to prevent a manufacturer that doesn’t have a dealer network from opening stores. (It is due to these laws being so old that Tesla is now able to lease from its New Milford facility. Leasing didn’t exist at the time the laws were written and, therefore, wasn’t specifically prohibited.)

The auto dealership and manufacturer associations have effectively mobilized to block direct sales when it has come before the legislature in the past. They’re effective lobbyists. We would like to see them devote this level of effort to selling EVs.

Existing Auto Companies/Dealerships Not Selling EVs

It pains me to type that headline and I hope it changes at some point. This club supports all EVs, but we also have to recognize reality, and consider that this industry needs to evolve or adapt its model.

Tesla and other EV companies don’t want dealerships. Their position is that this model doesn’t work for them and they have a point! Legacy manufacturers have been slow to pivot to EVs and dealers have been even slower to sell them. This has been reported on extensively, by the NY Times, by the Sierra Club (74% of dealers nationally were not selling EVs in 2019), and others, including the EV Club of CT.

In the most recent EV Club analysis of DMV data, we saw that from July 2019 to July 2020, there was a net increase of 1827 EVs in the Department of Motor Vehicles’ registration file. 1361 of these were Tesla, a whopping 74%.

Club analysis of CHEAPR data similarly shows that less than 40% of the dealerships in the state have disbursed at least 10 rebates over the course of 5 plus years.

Aside from direct sales, other models are bubbling to the surface. One striking example is in Germany where Volkswagen has given up on its dealers to sell EVs. The company has gotten some good reviews for its ID.3 model (not available in the US) and has a larger, forthcoming ID.4 for which it is taking reservations. Sales of these vehicles in Germany are handled through VW Corporate. The dealers act as agents, providing test drives and delivering vehicles, for which they receive a fee. Importantly, the dealers do not take title to the cars, which changes the sales dynamic completely. This means that VW is taking on a major risk in terms of carrying costs, but nonetheless, feels it is worth it. UPDATE – Apparently, it is worth it. FeedSpot reports that with a successful introduction of the ID.3 in September, “Volkswagen passenger cars managed to leap to the number one spot in all-electric vehicles over the full-year 2020 with a share of 23.8% in Germany…”

It’s Not Only About Tesla

There are numerous EV startups poised to enter the market, and several that are taking reservations, such as Rivian and Lucid, have announced they plan to sell directly to consumers.

Even though the word “Tesla” was not included in previous versions of “direct sales” bills, those bills were written in such a way that they were only applicable to Tesla. The EV Freedom Bill applies to all EV manufacturers without a dealer network.

It Is About the Consumer

A study by Cox found that just one in three consumers were “very satisfied” with the dealership experience.

The Federal Trade Commission has blogged about this subject. Two sentences: “Dealers contend that it is important for regulators to prevent abuses of local dealers. This rationale appears unsupported…” “Such change can sometimes be difficult for established competitors that are used to operating in a particular way, but consumers can benefit from change that also challenges longstanding competitors.”

It Is About Connecticut

CT is the only state in the region that does not permit direct sales. Keeping out companies that manufacture environmentally friendly products sends exactly the wrong message to the kinds of innovative companies we seek to attract to the state to grow the economy. It undercuts what the state is communicating with the TCI, offshore wind, and the ZEV MOU.

Tesla and these new companies want to sell EVs in CT. Let’s let them. Let’s encourage them. Let’s buy them!

Note:

The bill now has a number: SB 127.

Please join us and reach out to your state legislators telling them you support this bill.  We need to lower our carbon footprint now. This really is a power of the people moment. If they hear from you, they will take notice.

An easy option is to use the Engage page that Tesla has set up. Non-Tesla owners can use it, though you will need to set up an account. It has a form letter, which can be customized. It will know who your legislators are.

You are also welcome to write your own thoughts. This is an online page that enables you to find out who your legislators are.

Proposed Carbon Tax with Consumer Dividend

Join us on January 14th at 7 PM for a presentation by Dr. Roger Kuhns about a carbon tax proposal and dividend being advocated by Citizens Climate Lobby.

Dr. Roger Kuhns, CT State Coordinator for the Citizens Climate Lobby, is president of SustainAudit, LLC, and founder of the publishing/film company musicTOears Press. He has over 40 years of professional experience in geology, sustainable practices and environmental science, renewable energy, sustainable urban agriculture, and is a writer, award-winning filmmaker, and monologuist performer.  He has integrated the environmental sciences, engineering, natural resources, community enrichment and economics into sustainable development work and strategic planning for changing and learning organizations.

A Zoom link will be sent to our email list. If you would like to join the list, please use the contact form on the website.

Community Choice Aggregation Can Provide a Cleaner Grid and Lower Electric Rates

EVs enable us to drive with zero emissions. But EVs can be an even cleaner choice when the electricity used to charge the battery comes from a clean grid.

On December 2, at 7:00 PM, the club will host a Zoom meeting where the featured speaker will be Peter Millman of People’s Action for Clean Energy (PACE). He will be speaking to us about Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) and how we can go about making this an option for CT residents.

CCA involves communities controlling power procurement and offering modern energy products and services. These include programs that encourage more rooftop solar, battery storage, energy efficiency, demand response, and EV infrastructure. The goals of CC are to reduce energy costs, lower GHG emissions, and increase resilience. The utility still owns, operates, and maintains the distribution infrastructure.

This is on the docket of the Public Utilities Regulatory Agency (PURA), but it requires action by the legislature as well. Peter will explain the details, the next steps, and what citizens can do to support this initiative.

CCA is operational in a number of other states where it has successfully enabled a cleaner energy mix and lower electric rates.

CCA can happen. This is not tilting at wind turbines!

Spike in Model 3 Rebates leads to Slightly Stronger Rebate Activity in September

The September data were published on Friday, Oct. 30th, and show 84 rebates awarded with a $104,000 spend. Also, August was restated with rebates increasing from 40 to 44. A restatement of the prior month is common with these data releases.

The base-level trim of the Model 3 can still qualify for a rebate, even under the lowered $42,000 MSRP cap, and when those numbers are up, it raises the overall level. There were 37 Model 3 rebates, followed by 15 from the Chevy Bolt, possibly driven by some significant discounting. The spend level was $104,000, still pacing well under the allocated budget.

Rebate awards total $402,000 for all of 2020 through September against an annual budget of $3,000,000 (less admin and dealer incentives).

Pending Vote

CHEAPR changed the size of the rebates and the MSRP eligibility cap in 2019, which led to a large drop in the number of rebates awarded and the dollar amount spent. This was done at the time out of concern for the possibility of funds running dry late last year. Ever since then, there has been an announcement on the CHEAPR home page that revised rules will be coming in 2020. New rules were finally proposed in July. There was much disagreement about the proposal. Subsequent meetings in August, September, and October failed to resolve differences. No proposal has yet to be brought up for a vote. No meeting date is posted as of Nov 1. The CT EV Coalition does not like the incentive structure as originally proposed.

DEEP has asked their consultant, the CSE to go back and model additional scenarios. There are a number of variables in play, including an income-limited used EV incentive, an income-limited supplemental incentive, temporary stimulus incentive during this period of a weak economy, size of the rebate, and MSRP budget cap. We have blogged about a number of these issues before – here and here most recently.

The biggest sticking point, in my opinion, is the MSRP cap. At $42K, it is lower than neighboring states – NJ ($55K), MA ($50K), NY ($60K). More to the point, there just aren’t many BEVs that qualify. Below is the count of rebates by BEV model for 2020 to date.

There are only 7 models receiving rebates and just 4 that received more than single digits. If we exclude the Model 3 as our estimates are that ~75-80% of them are not eligible, and the eGolf, which is being discontinued, that leaves only 5 that are eligible, 3 with more than single digits. The eGolf is being replaced with the ID4, which will be ineligible. A loaded Bolt or Leaf Plus will exceed the threshold. The new Ford Mach-E begins at $43K. And, of course, the base trim level of the Tesla Model Y is over $42K. We feel CHEAPR needs to support the new generation of EVs, which include popular SUV or crossover form factors. Let consumer choice dictate where the rebates go and not put a thumb on the scale.