question of the day should automakers be allowed to sell cars direct to consumers The Washington State Auto Dealers Association is taking Scout Motors to court, hoping to prevent the EV startup from bypassing the conventional dealer network and sell its vehicles directly to consumers. question of the day should automakers be allowed to sell cars direct to consumers The group is the just the latest to file suit against the Volkswagen subsidiary, looking to prevent what other companies, such as Tesla and Rivian, are currently doing. The association filed suit June 29 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. In the filing, according to Automotive News, the dealer advocacy group claims allowing Scout to sell direct to consumers is harmful to the franchised dealers - including those operated by Scout's parent company, Volkswagen, such as VW, Audi, and Porsche. In Washington, there are nearly 30 VW-affiliated dealers, including 18 Volkswagen dealers. Advertisement Advertisement Currently, only Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid are allowed to sell straight to consumer by Washington. The state exempted the three companies after a push by Rivian to add a ballot initiative that would allow for direct-to-consumer sales in Washington. question of the day should automakers be allowed to sell cars direct to consumers This battle began with Tesla, which successfully sued its way across the U.S. to ensure it could sell its vehicles without the dealer network that had been the standard for decades. Since then, every automotive startup has followed the same path. Now that Scout Motors is moving toward production of vehicles, the question begs to be asked: Should the dealer system of selling vehicles be scrapped in favor of allowing all automakers sell vehicles direct to consumers? Tell us what you think! [Images: Scout Motors, Rivian, Tesla] Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
Liked by Alexander Pelletier, Zoë Lewis
Liked by Alexander Pelletier, Zoë Lewis
Liked by Alexander Pelletier, Zoë Lewis
