Dealers are overwhelmingly optimistic about President Donald Trump’s leadership, believing his administration will relieve electric vehicle sales pressure and promote business, despite tariff risks.
The Trump administration will be “tremendously positive” for dealers, Joe Collado, president at Trinity Cadillac in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., told Automotive News.
“It’s business at its core. This particular president, with his staff, is going to really push that agenda forward, and it’s going to help us long term,” he said.
Dealers interviewed by Automotive News expect the new administration will give consumers more buying confidence — even as potential tariffs raise vehicle prices — and will remove the push to sell EVs.
Sixty-four percent of franchise dealers surveyed by Automotive News expect the Trump administration to positively impact their business. Only 17 percent expect a negative effect, according to Automotive News’ 2025 Dealer Outlook Survey of more than 100 auto retailers from Jan. 2-16.
Automotive News surveyed 124 dealership executives Jan. 2-16 about 2024 results and their outlook for 2025. Here are highlights.
Hover over or touch chart for a detailed view.
Note: Figures may not equal 100% because of rounding.
Dealership leaders were asked what steps they have taken to prepare their stores to sell and service EVs. The majority have installed equipment, trained staff and upgraded electrical. Respondents could choose all that apply.
Note: Percentages are rounded.
Consumer attitudes in the showroom improved after Election Day, said Jeff Sell, dealer principal at West Metro Buick GMC in Monticello, Minn.
“Everybody’s kind of feeling good, [feeling] that things have turned around,” he said. The inkling that the economy will improve has helped business, he said.
Sell believes the Trump administration will improve consumers’ spending power by reducing interest rates or taxes or with some other measure. “Wherever it comes from, I think it will improve,” he said.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, once considered a threat by many traditional auto retailers, may work in their favor as head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, dealers said.
More than 40 percent of dealers surveyed expect Musk to have a positive impact on their business. About 20 percent expect a negative impact.
Musk said in November that eliminating consumer EV tax credits of up to $7,500 — an action Trump plans to take—could benefit Tesla long term. Many of Tesla’s rivals have relied on the incentives to spur EV sales.
“While his some of his decisions might be self-serving, I do think that overall, they’ll benefit my business,” said Nick Anderson, general manager at Chuck Anderson Ford in Excelsior Springs, Mo. If EVs become less prominent, “we won’t be stuck with a bunch of EVs that nobody wants to pay a floorplan on and having to discount just to get rid of them.”
Higher tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada would hurt vehicle sales, dealers said in the survey, which was fielded before Trump outlined his plan to impose 25 percent tariffs by Feb. 1.
Nearly 70 percent of dealers said the Mexico and Canada tariffs would have a negative or extremely negative effect on their new-vehicle sales. (About 30 percent said they expect no difference or were unsure.)
If the tariffs are enacted, dealers hope automakers find ways to offset the cost of vehicles built in Canada or Mexico and vehicles built with parts from there.
“Consumers are speaking with their wallets right now. The rates and the transaction prices are too high for them,” said Bret Foudray, CFO of Premier Automotive, based in Louisiana. “The manufacturer is going to have to figure out what the right price point is for the consumer to feel good about going and buying new cars.”
Anderson expects some automakers to raise prices incrementally because of the tariffs, but he would prefer the price increase over continued pressure to sell more EVs.
“I would take that end result, rather than the last few years …trying to push more EVs at the loss of the brand image and the loss of profits,” he said.
Many dealers agree that EVs have become too difficult to sell.
About two-thirds of the dealers surveyed said their customers are not interested in EVs and not buying them.
Most dealers said they have installed charging infrastructure; purchased and installed service equipment for EVs; trained technicians to maintain and repair EVs; trained sales representatives to learn about and sell EVs; and upgraded dealership electrical capacity.
After many dealers have spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on EV investments, half of the dealers surveyed said eliminating the consumer tax credits would negatively or extremely negatively affect EV sales.
Customers at Chuck Anderson Ford are not interested in EVs because of extreme temperatures in Missouri, among other reasons, Anderson said. Temperatures in some parts of Missouri fell to single digits this week. The extended-range Ford Mustang Mach-E’s usual 320-mile range plummets to 80 miles in such conditions, Anderson said. In the summer, when Missouri temperatures can exceed 100 degrees, the Mach-E range often falls to around 110 miles, he said.
EVs make up only about 1 percent of his new-vehicle sales. But the customers who buy them are drawn to the incentives, which in some cases make them less expensive than comparable gasoline-powered vehicles, Anderson said. Without the incentives, EVs would be much tougher to sell, he said.
Collado said he thinks the tax credit elimination is just a speed bump to long-term EV adoption. Automakers and the government have invested too much in EV manufacturing and charging infrastructure to give up on EVs, he said.
“I believe that the manufacturers are going to continue with the agenda,” Collado said. “They may dial it down a little bit, but it’s still going.”
