EVEN Electric, a new venture announced this week in Ottawa, Ontario, intends to create the first global sales and distribution network for electric vehicle (EV) transportation, offering multi-brand new and pre-owned vehicles through an innovative retail and online customer experience.
“The traditional dealership model has proven unable to deliver the sales and service experience that EV owners want and need,” says Mike Elwood, CEO of the new Canada-based venture. “Our EVEN model was developed to combine the best aspects of both an online and in-store retail experience to make it easy for EV customers to find and acquire exactly what they want, when and where they want it.”
“Moving from dealership to dealership to shop one car at a time is simply an outdated process. EVEN has created an entirely new distribution model – one that is enabled by technology to offer customers an unprecedented level of choice and convenience,” says John Gordon, EVEN’s chief operating officer. “At the same time, EVEN will significantly lower costs across the entire supply chain by optimizing the flow of EVs directly to the global markets when and where they’re needed.”
According to the company, EVEN will maintain EV inventories at efficient and cost-effective centralized processing centers in key countries. Once selected, a vehicle will be shipped to the nearest customer center, a streamlined and less capital-intensive version of a dealership. Vehicle deliveries – as well as service – can occur at either the customer center or directly in an owner’s driveway.
EVEN says it is consulting with governments, fleets and NGOs to more fully participate in development of EV infrastructure and deployment. A recent pilot project in Iceland proved that consumer demand for EVs is high, provided the proper distribution and infrastructure services are in place. The EVEN model quickly sold 100 cars and left an additional 200 orders unmet simply due to supply constraints.
A number of partners are coming forward to support the new venture including Microsoft which has provided software to enable the backend of the business where customers can get information, compare vehicles, scan inventories and even place their vehicle order.
The group has formed an added strategic partnership with EVoCharge, a Los Angeles-based company developing and supplying new EV charging infrastructure products, including its EVoReel cable management solutions.
“EV infrastructure is improving, political will is changing, incentives continue and lifecycle ownership costs of an EV are one-tenth of an ICE,” says Gisli Gislason, chairman and founder. “That makes the whole EV ownership process more accessible, more desirable and more fun.”
My biggest question about this is will EVAN Electric’s sales model, like Tesla’s run afoul of dealer franchise laws in many states.