(Olympia, WA) Washington wants more electric vehicles on the road. It’s offered generous incentives for EV buyers and set deadlines barring new gasoline-powered car sales.
The next step, some say, is revising a law that does not allow customers to buy an electric vehicle directly from the automaker, instead forcing them to go through a dealership.
There’s one notable exception: Tesla.
The electric carmaker, founded and led by billionaire Elon Musk, can make direct sales in Washington due to an exemption obtained a decade ago. At that time, it was the lone electric vehicle manufacturer seeking access to the market.
Legislation filed by Democrat and Republican state lawmakers would lift the ban on direct sales, putting firms like Rivian and Lucid on equal footing with Tesla when it comes to how they transact with consumers.
Backers of the bills say this shift will open the EV market wider for consumers and quicken the pace of sales.
“We’re moving in this direction. I want to give consumers more options as we make this transition,” said Rep. Beth Doglio, D-Olympia, prime sponsor of the House bill.
Car dealers have been strongly opposed, successfully blocking a similar effort in the 2024 session that had strong support from former Governor Jay Inslee. They argued then that their locally-owned businesses would lose sales and see connections with their communities weakened.
This year’s version contains protections for dealerships, said Doglio, whose 22nd Legislative District is home to Olympia Auto Mall.
“I appreciate them. They are an important part of the community,” she said. “I want them to be successful.”
The road ahead
Washington bars automakers and distributors from competing with new motor vehicle dealers by owning, operating, or controlling a dealership. However, if a manufacturer had a vehicle dealer license in Washington on Jan. 1, 2014, it could open a dealership where it sold only new models of their vehicles.
Today, firms like Rivian and Lucid can have physical locations to showcase their vehicles. But customers cannot come in to test drive vehicles, discuss purchase options with a sales agent and maybe buy a car. They can look at models but must go online to buy, lease or get answers to their questions.
A coalition of environmental and business groups, including Rivian and Lucid, is pushing the legislative change.
“A level playing field among zero emission vehicle-only manufacturers is good for competition, and good for consumers,” said Hannah Steinweg, Rivian’s public policy director, in a statement released through the coalition.
The stated intent of the proposed legislation is to end the prohibition on direct sales “while ensuring that traditional auto dealers are supported in transitioning to a zero emissions vehicle-focused market.”
Under the bill, a carmaker could directly sell zero-emission vehicles if it has set up at least two service centers in the state and provides a mobile service too.
It also provides grants to auto dealerships to train their technicians on maintenance of zero-emission vehicles and charging systems. And dealerships can receive other incentives as they increase their sales of EVs.
Washington’s Transportation Electrification Strategy, released last year, embraced direct sales as one way to get more drivers behind the wheel of zero-emission vehicles.
A hearing on Senate Bill 5592 is set for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee.
Also Tuesday, the committee will hold a hearing on a bill to repeal Tesla’s exemption. That would mean no company that solely manufactures electric vehicles could directly sell their vehicles to customers. Both Senate bills are sponsored by Rep. Rebecca Saldana, a Seattle Democrat.
This story first appeared on Washington State Standard.