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EFG Companies Electric Vehicles

The Infrastructure of Electric Vehicle Sales

Electric vehicles are a hot topic these days – for consumers and automotive dealers alike. However, not all electric vehicles are alike. Like any new product, consumers can be confused and overwhelmed. A dealer’s success in selling any type of electric vehicle requires your staff to be knowledgeable on the product details and trained to guide the customer through the buying decision process.

Electric vehicles on the road today

Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs)

BEVs—also referred to as “all-electric vehicles”—run on electricity only and are recharged from an external power source. They are propelled by one or more electric motor powered by rechargeable battery packs.

Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs)

PHEVs also use batteries to power an electric motor and can be recharged from an external power source, but they incorporate a smaller internal combustion engine that can recharge the battery (or in some models, directly power the wheels) to allow for longer driving ranges. When electricity is unavailable, PHEVs can run on gasoline alone.

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EFG Companies Electric Vehicles F&I

Are You Optimized for EV?

Eric Fifield Chief Sales Officer EFG Companies
Contributing Author:
Eric Fifield
Chief Sales Officer
EFG Companies

Electric vehicles (EVs) are gaining traction in retail automotive. According to Forbes, the U.S. passed 1 million total EVs sold in 2018. Looking forward, consumers expect to have more choices in EVs, as automakers announce expansions of their product offering.  2019 marks the first year the average battery range for all models is greater than 200 miles. While analysts do not believe 2019 will be an inflection point for EVs, they do expect costs to continue to drop. Lithium-ion battery prices have decreased an estimated 80% since 2010, and are expected to fall another 45% by 2021. As battery prices decline, vehicle prices should decrease, especially since battery costs currently compose nearly half the price of an EV.

In the F&I office and service drive, EVs pose a different challenge. Historically, warranty administrators underwrite the risk of mechanical breakdown in automobiles so that consumers don’t have to worry about those unanticipated financial shocks. Service contracts are priced based on the likelihood of each part failing times a projected cost to replace the part.  In other words, the price of the service contract implicitly includes an assumption around the probability that, say, a fuel injection pump might fail and what it would likely cost to replace it.

For traditional internal combustion engines (ICEs), administrators have decades of data on part failure specific for every vehicle model. Every time an OEM rolls out a new drive train, administrators reprice the risk in the coverage and begin building loss history. EVs are a different story, with far fewer mechanical parts and a tremendously expensive battery that can stop the vehicle in its tracks. Because ICEs are totally different technology from EVs, offering the same coverage on both really doesn’t make sense. Because of this, EFG Companies recently released a new Motorist Assistance Plan for Electric Vehicles (MAP® Electric Vehicle Protection) to exclusively cover the unique technology of EVs.

Categories
EFG Companies Electric Vehicles

EFG Launches MAP® Electric Vehicle Protection Exclusively for EV Customers

DALLAS, TX (August 13, 2019) EFG Companies, the innovator behind the award-winning Hyundai Assurance program, today announced the launch of the new Motorist Assistance Plan (MAP®) Electric Vehicle Protection. This new exclusionary vehicle service contract is designed to meet the unique needs of EV owners and help dealers diversify their revenue streams through both the F&I office and the service drive. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/2YX1226.

MAP Electric Vehicle Protection provides coverage for all assemblies and parts, the manufacturer-installed battery, and electric vehicle motor(s), except for a specific list of parts that are excluded. It also provides roadside assistance, rental reimbursement, and trip interruption benefits.