Texas Roll Call

[Bpcunning]

The first speaker was from Rivian actually. There seemed to be some friction with his statement regarding the "three tiered system". I'm assuming the recording will be posted here once it is up. HB 4379 was the last topic before the Chairman did his best auctioneer impression and rattled through a bunch of procedural business.

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[electruck]

The first speaker was from Rivian actually. There seemed to be some friction with his statement regarding the "three tiered system". I'm assuming the recording will be posted here once it is up. HB 4379 was the last topic before the Chairman did his best auctioneer impression and rattled through a bunch of procedural business.

Thanks, video looks to be up already so I'll check out what I missed live.

 

[skyote]

I missed the first few minutes due to a work meeting. Was anyone from Rivian, Tesla or Lucid there?

Dan West from Rivian spoke. Nobody from Tesla or Lucid testified in person.

Sorry I missed it live. Is there a way to go back and view?

See if this link works.

https://tlchouse.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=46&clip_id=20759

Rep Harris kicks off things for HB 4379 around 1:15 (over an hour in). Some others might want to listen to the SB about EV registration fees that preceeded it as well.

 

[electruck]

Rep Harris kicks off things for HB 4379 around 1:15 (over an hour in). Some others might want to listen to the SB about EV registration fees that preceeded it as well.

The SB about registration fees was interesting discussion as well. It sounds like they might be in the process of amending that so I need to go check out where they're headed with that.

 

[IHScout]

I was hoping @skyote would slam his fist and tell the auto dealers, "you can't handle the truth" followed by some very awkward silence.....

 

[skyote]

I was hoping @skyote would slam his fist and tell the auto dealers, "you can't handle the truth" followed by some very awkward silence.....

Haha! I think that would be frowned upon, but that's funny!

I was actually pretty pissed after hearing some of the Chairman's and auto dealer comments and did my best to contain myself.

 

[IHScout]

Haha! I think that would be frowned upon, but that's funny!

I was actually pretty pissed after hearing some of the Chairman's and auto dealer comments and did my best to contain myself.

Yeah, I don't think it would have helped your cause. I think he did very well articulating your position, which is definitely in line with my position.

On a side note, I believe you and I have the same configuration on the R1S. I may be bugging you for information and a test drive if Rivian takes too long to get to get to my order!

 

[skyote]

On a side note, I believe you and I have the same configuration on the R1S. I may be bugging you for information and a test drive if Rivian takes too long to get to get to my order!

Bring it on, give me a shout any time.

 

[electruck]

I was actually pretty pissed after hearing some of the Chairman's and auto dealer comments and did my best to contain myself.

Yeah, there's nothing in the bill that threatens any existing dealerships (city or small town) or changes anything about the way the legacy manufacturers sell through dealerships. Small town funding for Little League teams is not at risk. But they sure try to make it sound like it would effectively shut down all existing dealerships and end civilization as we know it. They're really just being greedy and focusing on ways to expand their empires mafia style... you can sell your product but only through us and fyi we'll be taking a cut off the top.

 

[SANZC02]

Haha! I think that would be frowned upon, but that's funny!

I was actually pretty pissed after hearing some of the Chairman's and auto dealer comments and did my best to contain myself.

I understand what you are talking about with their comments. Certainly did not sound like a group leaning towards passing this and wanting to maintain status quo.

Seems very short sighted as I really do not see how any dealer network would be supportable for an EV market with the limited post sales revenue stream because of the low maintenance requirements. From a consumer perspective it can only increase the cost of entry. In order to support a third party dealer network, the profit on a new vehicle would have to be excessive. The manufacturing costs as well would have to increase in order to support the additional cost for paying a third party dealer for the warranty work. It would probably require the dealerships to get created by grabbing a piece of the financing which would also be passed on to consumers.

Hopefully they will actually take the time review all of this to better understand the challenges.

 

[DucRider]

Yeah, there's nothing in the bill that threatens any existing dealerships (city or small town) or changes anything about the way the legacy manufacturers sell through dealerships. Small town funding for Little League teams is not at risk. But they sure try to make it sound like it would effectively shut down all existing dealerships and end civilization as we know it. They're really just being greedy and focusing on ways to expand their empires mafia style... you can sell your product but only through us and fyi we'll be taking a cut off the top.

What is often missed is opening a dealership/showroom/service center employs the same amount of people no matter the ownership. That could be a local businessman with a franchise (less and less common), or more likely a franchise operated by a huge corporation with multiple locations all across the US (the increased competition and community involvement argument fades a bit here). Having a manufacturer own the store doesn't in and of itself dictate much of what they argue is the benefit of franchises.

The argument for increased competition looks good on the surface, and does allow for someone set on a particular model to shop for a better price. That alone can help the franchised dealer model survive as some consumers perceive value unique to that model (they do get offended when a dealer wants more than MSRP due to demand but are happy to take - or expect - a discount when shopping). The traditional manufacturers still largely dictate the selling price by setting MSRP and then offering varying incentives in response to demand. Tesla adjusts prices/features on the fly (the Model Y LR has increased by $1,500 in just a few weeks).

 

[Joel&Sue]

Where my TX people at? And R1T or R1S?

Outside of Austin here, R1S.

In the Dallas area. Watching for news on the Texas House Bill on direct sales.

 

[electruck]

Local news reported this morning that the Amazon delivery van is coming to the Ft Worth area as part of ongoing testing. If you're in that area, keep an eye out.

edit: also found this article (paywall protected).

 

[skyote]

Some exciting TX news!

Austin Service Center (8/5/21 start & 10/28/21 completion, $2.12M, new office space & auto service space w/ car wash) - https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/TABS/Search/Project/TABS2021017896)

Dallas Service Center – (9/9/21 start & 12/3/21 completion, $2.86M, service center & service office) - https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/TABS/Search/Project/TABS2021019224

DCFC partnership with HEB Grocery, with sites submitted in Waco, El Paso, Columbus, & Houston.

For all projects, search TDLR here & put “rivian” in the project name field: https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/TABS/Search

 

[Texasag05]

Some exciting TX news!

Austin Service Center (8/5/21 start & 10/28/21 completion, $2.12M, new office space & auto service space w/ car wash) - https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/TABS/Search/Project/TABS2021017896)

Dallas Service Center – (9/9/21 start & 12/3/21 completion, $2.86M, service center & service office) - https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/TABS/Search/Project/TABS2021019224

DCFC partnership with HEB Grocery, with sites submitted in Waco, El Paso, Columbus, & Houston.

For all projects, search TDLR here & put “rivian” in the project name field: https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/TABS/Search

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