EV drivers buy snacks and drink coffee. Some smoke cigars, too.
President Donald Trump has said he’ll discontinue the $7,500 tax credit for individuals and businesses who purchase an electric vehicle (EV). In addition, the $1,000 credit for installing a home charger is expected to end by executive order early in 2025. Since 2021, the federal government has given away more than $35 billion in tax credit incentives for drivers who buy EVs. By the end of 2024, this year’s EV buyers will have received about $12 billion in tax savings for the 1.6 million new EVs they bought this year. This doesn’t include federal loans and subsidies for charging station makers.
EV Buyers Will Be Fine Without Government Help
In 2024, the EV marketplace passed the tipping point for sustainability and long-term growth. More than 12 international manufacturers are heavily invested in the category, offering more than 40 makes and models from Mustangs to Mercedes.
The growth rate of the EV marketplace is at a pause while infrastructure and support businesses catch up. Future growth will come at an organic, market-driven pace as support systems and range improve. High-priced models led by Tesla are maxing out in the luxury buyer segment. While the overall number of EVs on U.S. roadways is only 1.6% of the total 288 million vehicles, it was nearly 30% of all luxury cars bought in 2024, with Audi, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Lexus, and Cadillac in the mix.
In 2024, more than 30% of EVs were purchased by first-time car buyers. Their average age was under 29. There will be more as new less-expensive EV models hit the market. Around 300,000 lease turn-ins will also provide lower prices. Car and truck dealers will have a wide assortment of EVs that the rest of us can afford.
EVs Don’t Have a Gas Tank. What Can a C-Store Do for Them?
The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) has filed a legal challenge to California’s Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate. The mandate required 22% of registered light vehicles to be EVs by 2025. In its argument, NACS says the state overreached its authority by citing global warming beyond California’s borders.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case, but that ship has already sailed. At the end of 2024 California had already passed the mandated 22% of all vehicles on its roads and freeways, whether the court likes it or not. We’ll see how the rest of the country goes.
“…. We need a federal standard that makes the entire nation’s interests in lower emissions and a strong economy its priority rather than arbitrarily picking one technology over others, regardless of results,” Doug Kantor, NACS general counsel, stated.
Luxury-car buyers are picking the technology, not the state. The federal government was offering the incentives, not California.
Better to Install Charging Stations Than File Lawsuits
Today there are 33 EV charging companies offering a unified charging system. I found 10 of them with contracts for charging-station installations at c-store locations, apartment complexes, commercial garages and retail venues. Federal money would be well spent to help convenience stores rearrange their outdoor furniture. There are no underground tanks to install. Quick-charge technology provides an 80-mile charge in about six minutes.
An outdoor snack bar and cigar lounge next to the chargers could be a moneymaker. Purchase and lease data shows EV buyers are younger and affluent — a demographic with fewer tobacco users. Give them something else to do since they don’t need to hold a gas pump. They can come inside or visit the new snack bar created just for them. Sort of like after the 18th hole, but without the golf. C-store owners and managers will come up with more ideas than me.
NACS would do better for their members by encouraging charging stations to offset lost fuel revenue. Recharging station companies will benefit from revenue sharing deals with c-store chains and help them to learn more about lifestyle and travel data that c-stores live by.
Car Dealers Won’t Have Any Trouble Coming Up With Deals
The California Automobile Dealers Association is likely to have more powerful leverage over the state’s mandates than the Supreme Court. They’re in it for the money, always a strong motive. There are plenty of ways to convince people to go electric without the federal government’s help. California’s pump prices are more effective than any mandate. The momentum is at the consumer level.
Manufacturers and dealers can subsidize interest rates, offer straight rebates or pay the sales tax on an EV purchase. Manufacturer costs are continuing to come down. Batteries are losing weight and providing more mileage. A goal of the first sale is to create a repeat customer. Car makers and dealers are invested for the long haul.
Afterthought
The first functional internal combustion engine was invented in 1885 by Gottlieb Daimler. Henry Ford began making four-cylinder Model Ts in 1903. One hundred and twenty-two years of improvements now move us at 30 miles per gallon with a 60,000-mile drive-train warranty. That’s a 111-year head start on today’s EVs. This time it won’t take c-stores that long to become the away-from-home EV charging destination. There’s a lot at stake.
John Geoghegan has spent the last 30 years in the tobacco business, including vice president strategic planning at General Cigar Co., U.S. manager for DjEEP Lighters, head of marketing for Kretek International Inc. and manager of LaMirada Cigar Co. He began his career 57 years ago at Procter & Gamble. Geoghegan is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati. He lives in Laguna Niguel, Calif.
