EV Market Shock

Galpin Motors has long been interested in electric vehicles, and this year that interest will come to fruition.

Galpin President Beau Boeckmann pointed out that the dealer group based in North Hills put in charging stations at all its dealerships a few years back.

“We have been ahead of things in anticipation of EVs coming,” Boeckmann said. 

Today, each of the group’s eight dealerships sells at least one electric vehicle model. In the case of the flagship Galpin Ford dealership, there are three models available to order – the Mach-E Mustang, the F-150 Lightning pickup truck and the electric Transit van. 

Boeckmann, the son of Bert Boeckmann, the longtime chief executive of Galpin Motors, said that the Mach-E was among the bestselling electric vehicles the dealer group has sold, along with the Porsche Taycan. 

“We can get them for customers, but they are in very high demand,” Boeckmann said. 

The surest way to get the Mustang cross-over sport utility vehicle is to order one. But then it will take about 24 weeks before it’s delivered, Boeckmann added. 

“It’s a little different for the American consumer,” he continued. “They are used to having it right now.”

Boeckmann added that Ford Motor Co. really hit it out of the park with the design of the Mach-E. 

From people lucky enough to have bought the car, he’s heard nothing but rave reviews, noting features from the roomy interior to the exterior to the convenience of charging the vehicle at home. 

“You never have to go to a gas station again,” Boeckmann said. 

For potential buyers of the 2022 Taycan, there are none currently available at Galpin’s Porsche dealership in Santa Clarita. There is a single version of last year’s model available, however. 

Joe Molina, former owner of JMPR, a Woodland Hills boutique public relations agency for exotic and limited production cars as well as for dealers like Galpin, drove a Taycan for four days last year. The car, supplied by Galpin, was “shockingly fast,” he said.

“I could not believe the car could stay on the ground,” Molina added. “The torque is instant and so fast that you literally have to brace your head against the headrest. It’s phenomenal.”

Same sales strategy

At Galpin’s dealerships, which include Volkswagen, Honda, Mazda, Volvo and Jaguar franchises, it is an easy process for the salespeople to sell an electric vehicle. All of them are trained and educated on the benefits and limitations of the alternative fuel cars. 

It’s no different than selling a gas-powered vehicle, Boeckmann said.

“It’s still a car,” he added. “It just has a different propulsion system.”

As Galpin has one of the biggest selections of cars in the greater San Fernando Valley region, they are “significant to watch” because they have so many manufacturers that they represent and thus have a good idea of what the customer preferences will be when it comes to electric cars, Molina said. 

“The future is coming faster than we think, and they will let us know how fast those cars are coming,” he added. 

The entire country is becoming focused on electric vehicles, Boeckmann said, and California is leading the way as far as pushing for less emissions. 

In September of last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order that would ban new gas-powered cars from being sold in the state by 2035. He took that step to help battle climate change, which has resulted in some of the worst wildfires in California history. 

“This is the most impactful step our state can take to fight climate change,” Newsom said in a statement at the time. “Our cars shouldn’t make wildfires worse – and create more days filled with smoky air. Cars shouldn’t melt glaciers or raise sea levels threatening our cherished beaches and coastlines.”

Galpin is preparing for a future in which EVs are most of the business. Boeckmann said the market will evolve to that point quickly. Within 10 years, if not before that, he foresees the day when electric vehicles outpace gas powered cars in sales. 

“If you look, that’s where the focus is going,” he added. “Ford is building almost an entire city just to build the new electric truck.”

Called BlueOval City, the complex will be constructed on a nearly 6-square-mile site in Tennessee to build the next-generation electric F-Series pickups, Ford said in a release.

Consumer prices

The cost of an electric vehicle can range from about $34,000 for a Volkswagen ID.4 crossover up to between $160,000 to $170,000 for the Taycan, Boeckmann said.

Between the extremes, the cost of the Mustang Mach-E starts at $43,895 for the Select model and goes up to $65,595 for the GT Performance Edition, according to the Ford website.

And then there is the Lotus electric supercar, the Evija, that comes in at $2 million.

“That is available to order from Galpin,” Boeckmann said.

When it comes to the lifespan of an electric vehicle, it is really the battery that needs attention. The vehicle itself can run for years depending on how well it is maintained. But the battery life is a different story, Boeckmann said.

“It is a function of time and of use,” he said. “It is also a function of how many fast charges have been done. If a battery has a ton of fast charging, that can also limit the lifespan of the battery.”

But Molina, the former public relations professional, called fast charging depletion of an electric car battery a problem of today and one that would be addressed as battery technology improves. 

“That hurdle will be cleared relatively short,” Molina said. “When the battery technology changes, then society will change with it.”

Molina has owned quite a few exotic cars in his life but never an electric one. But that may change soon, and it may be the Taycan that he buys.

The pivotal point in the decision to buy an electric vehicle came when his wife said she would be interested in one. She, after all, was the one who had the “range anxiety,” or the worry that the vehicle would run out of power before reaching a charging station, he said.

“When both spouses agree on it, it’s going to be gangbusters (in terms of EV sales),” Molina said. “One person may buy the car, but another person is making the decision.”