Car dealerships and their role in electric vehicles' market penetration-A Greek market case study

This paper explores the contribution of car dealerships in Electric Vehicle (EV) market up-take. Car dealerships play a significant role in EV market penetration where the most critical moments of the EV's life happens, the actual sale process. The recent yet limited literature from the US shows certain issues during the sale process of EVs. The literature also indicates that the car dealers are not always qualified enough, lack knowledge to sell EVs, or in other cases they might even discourage potential customers from purchasing an EV. Furthermore, the paper presents statistical EV sales data from the Greek market and explores the literature findings through interviews that have been carried out on the only two existing EV distributors in Greece. The aim is to identify the validity of the literature review findings as well as to present the current state of the EV market in the country. Finally, policies and suggestions are made that can improve EV market penetration in Greece. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.