Connecticut Auto Dealers Celebrate Earth Day With PR & Greenwashing

The Connecticut Automotive Retailers Affiliation’s public relations agency shared a candy, heartwarming tweet about Earth Day and their dedication to sustainability and defending the planet. It’s a fantastic tweet, however, in my view, extremely deceptive. In the event that they actually cared about our planet, the dealership affiliation wouldn’t foyer so exhausting to stop automotive producers similar to Tesla and Rivian from promoting on to clients within the state.

In keeping with the agency, the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Affiliation was being celebrated on Earth Day for his or her “dedication to sustainability and defending our planet.”

Though the PR agency is solely doing their job by highlighting their companions — as any enterprise would do — I feel that utilizing Earth Day to advertise organizations that advocate towards sustainability is a very dangerous take.

Let’s have a look at how the auto dealerships in Connecticut fought so exhausting to stop electrical automobile gross sales within the state. In June 2021, I wrote this text about their huge win on the expense of Tesla, Rivian, and clear air.

The EV Freedom invoice was a beacon of hope, but auto dealerships lobbied exhausting to battle the invoice. One dealership even sued Tesla and the city of East Hartford to stop Tesla from opening a service heart of their city. Additionally they received that, and now, Tesla is unable to service its clients within the space. Even Plug In America modified its stance from supportive of the invoice to impartial after the dealerships utilized strain.

Final summer time, I used to be invited to talk with Connecticut State Senator Will Haskell, who’s in favor of EVs being bought on to shoppers in his state, about EVs, Tesla, dealerships, and his hopes for the state and EV freedom. That is what he needed to say about direct gross sales:

“It’s about extra than simply saying the best issues in relation to environmental coverage. We’ve bought to speak the discuss and stroll the stroll. We handed this state aim that we’d have 150,000 EVs on the highway by 2025 Nicely, as of July [2021], we solely had 17,217 EVs registered in Connecticut.

“So we’re solely 11.5% of the way in which in the direction of our 2025 aim and that’s across the nook. So except we allow direct gross sales, and develop participation, except we wholeheartedly embrace EVs, I can’t think about how we’re going to fulfill the formidable objectives that we’ve been setting for ourselves.”

Senator Haskell added that it isn’t sufficient to say you’re going to place 150,000 EVs on the highway by 2025, however it’s a must to take concrete steps to make it occur. I identified that from an outsider’s viewpoint, it seemed as if Connecticut was setting itself as much as fail. They make these EV objectives after which cater to the lobbying of seller associations, which ends up in the tip results of the objectives not being met. How will you push EVs however make it towards the regulation to purchase one in your state? Louisiana has comparable seller legal guidelines and so do many different states — so it’s not simply Connecticut.

Senator Haskell additionally shared his ideas about how he felt concerning the dealership expertise and the significance of a free market.

“My feeling concerning the sellers is that they declare repeatedly that they’ve the superior enterprise mannequin; the purchasers love going to dealerships. I personally don’t assume that that’s true. I feel that individuals are not essentially in love with the automobile dealership expertise however possibly they’re proper and the purpose of residing in a free market is permitting the shopper to determine.

“If dealerships really consider that they’re serving clients in a superior means, that they’re the preferable choice, properly, then clients will probably proceed to decide on to purchase their vehicles at dealerships even when direct sale is an choice.

“However by proscribing the free market, I discover so type of complicated. It’s just like the world is turned the wrong way up. I’m a progressive Democrat in Connecticut begging to permit companies to return to Connecticut and to allow free market dynamics to do what they do greatest which is empower the buyer to select that’s greatest for them.

“And one factor that struck me there was a ballot as as to whether or not enabling direct gross sales particularly of electrical automobiles was a well-liked concept in Connecticut. And the ballot was carried out in most likely early 2021. Excessive 80% help charge.”

You may watch the total interview right here.

Last Ideas

I feel that we as a nation of states collectively have an extended highway forward of us by way of electrical automobiles and innovation. There at all times appears to be some type of energy at play that isn’t in favor of innovation. This will likely sound a bit insane, however once you have a look at the outcomes of the continual lobbying in favor of greed and income whereas sacrificing clear power and the objectives set for the local weather, it appears simply as ludicrous.

Let’s be sincere right here: the PR agency was utilizing Earth Day as a advertising tactic to advertise its shopper. And lots of firms do that. Nonetheless, we have to be truthful and come clean with the truth that Earth Day shouldn’t be celebrated solely on at some point. Corporations similar to Tesla and Rivian are celebrating by making automobiles that don’t pollute. They’re celebrating every day by advocating for sustainability and clear power.

One cute tweet isn’t going to undo all of the harm that has been carried out. As Senator Haskell stated, there’s a want for concrete steps to be taken. Stroll the stroll.

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