Canadian startup wants to change how you buy cars
Most of the focus on growing the electric vehicle (EV) industry has been on making the cars themselves better as well as improving access to charging. However, one Toronto-based company thinks there’s need for improvement when it comes to how electric cars are sold.
The traditional car dealership has evolved to cater to the needs of gas-powered vehicles, but electric cars have different needs. Unlike gas cars, they require way less maintenance for example, and that makes them a lot less profitable for dealerships who often see service business from customers who purchased vehicles from them. This leads to dealers not giving EVs as much focus when to comes to displaying and selling them.
EVEN Electric, a new startup based in Toronto, proposes that electric vehicles don’t need to be sold at physical dealerships and instead offers up a completely online car-buying experience. According to Autoblog, the company will sell new and used EVs from multiple companies, letting the consumer decide which models are better for them. Once a vehicle is picked out, the customer can get it shipped right to their driveway.
Considering the emphasis on comparison and choosing the right vehicle, it seems implied that the company will have support staff to assist customers on learning about each vehicle both online and in-person at one of their “Customer Centres”. Those customer centres will also be where EVEN will service the vehicles should that be required, but they also plan to be able to service your vehicle directly in your driveway, similar to another fledgling startup in Toronto called Fiix.
There’s no date yet on when EVEN Electric will be fully up and running, but the company is working hard to expand into multiple countries and is even working with Microsoft to finish its online showroom and purchase platform.