Occasionally, vehicle sales are boosted by circumstances beyond our control. We’re currently seeing this with the EV tax credit, which is incentivizing buyers to purchase an electric vehicle. In August, there was a 26 percent boost in EV sales because of the impending deadline. But what happens when the tax credit ends?
Let’s look at some strategies you can use now to get that last push of EV buyers before September is over, and ways you can ensure you’re able to find customers to purchase your vehicles after October first.
Understand the Requirements
As long as the taxpayer has a written, binding contract in place and payment is made on or before September 30, 2025, the taxpayer will be entitled to claim the credit once they have taken possession of the vehicle, even if that possession happens after September 30, 2025.
This gives you a huge opportunity to push sales even harder through end-of-day September 30, since your customers don’t have to have the vehicle in their possession that day.
The best way to guarantee you and your team understand the requirements and stay up to date with any changes is by checking the IRS website regularly and searching for the specific Act (Public Law 119-21, 139 Stat. 72).
Spotlight Your EV Inventory
Put a focus on your EV inventory by creating short vehicle intro videos to post on your socials. Do a quick walk around, show the interior, and call out the cool features. Make sure to highlight the benefits of the EV and call out the tax credit to help create urgency.
Get creative and give each EV a personality or character. Imagine a customer coming in asking about the blue four-door that loves long drives and charging up while their driver grocery shops. Or the silver two-door that enjoys sunsets and busy highways. Just make sure you include details like the range and MPGe.
Identify Potential Sales in Your Database
When the tax credit is over, you’ll likely have fewer buyers actively coming to you, which means you’ll have to find them. Using precise targeting, you can eliminate the guesswork when looking through your prospects and focus on those who are most likely to buy an EV. With the right solution, you can actually identify the potential sales sitting in your database.
We all know electric isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but by leveraging a combination of demographic, behavioral, and transactional data, you cut down the time it takes to find the best customers. This data also allows you to lead customers into conversations naturally, because you already know they have an interest in what you’re about to say.
Bolster Your Online Vehicle Merchandising
Making sure your EVs appeal to the right audience doesn’t have to be hard. It starts with highlighting truly unique features and descriptions optimized to convert prospects. You can get the most out of your online vehicle merchandising by utilizing exclusive features found only with the VIN of each vehicle, like the specific trim package, any accident reports, and the service and maintenance records. This can be a pretty manual and time-consuming task if you don’t have the right software to help you do the job.
Your customers want to quickly and easily see what you have to offer, or they’ll move on. Make sure you show them what they want to see, so you can push your EV inventory.
Beyond EVs
It’s definitely not too late to make adjustments over the next few weeks to push as many EV sales as possible before the tax credit ends. But don’t forget, these strategies will continue to be impactful when selling your electric vehicles even after it’s ended. One of the greatest bonuses of all, however, is that they work for every other vehicle on your lot as well!
Finding the right customers doesn’t have to be hard — you just need the right tools to do it.
