Earlier quoted context omitted.
The dealers brought it on themselves...many of them actively disincentivize EV purchases when you try to buy one. Why? They want to protect that recurring service bay revenue. Oil changes, plugs, belts, etc.
I am not saying this isn't true, but EV's have a set of maintenance requirements too - there are still a lot of mechanical parts - tires, suspensions, doors, etc. Not to mention electronic maintenance but I guess dealerships would have to re-train, re-certify, and re-tool technicians for that
My spouse and I recently purchased an extremely difficult to find plug-in hybrid EV. We had placed a hold on a specific vehicle destined for delivery to the dealership a few months later. We paid a deposit and signed a receipt that made reference to that vehicle and was given the final price sheet for that specific vehicle at deposit time.
Two days before we were scheduled to pick it up (more than two months after we put the deposit down) the sales guy called and said that the dealership had instituted a new policy on the first of the month that no sales of that specific model and trim level would be authorized by the deal desk without an interior and exterior water resistant coating, and that the lowest price he could offer was an additional $2,500.
As you can imagine that did not stand up to scrutiny and we walked out of there with the vehicle at the total price recorded in the initial paperwork. They signed on the dotted line and never said a word about any new policies until we were ready to pick it up. They did this in a U.S. state where that practice is not legal.
You bet we told Toyota about that when they sent the survey.
If they weren’t making enough to meet their needs then they should have known that when they were negotiating.