5 winning strategies for successfully selling and marketing electric vehicles

The Tesla Model 3.

Electric vehicles (EVs) have been on the market for quite some time, and most people who’ve driven an EV love the unique electric vehicle driving experience.

In addition to the role of ‘emissions off-setters,’ EVs meet specific mobility requirements.

They are also a notable innovation vector in the entire automotive industry.

You probably don’t know this…
The global demand for electric vehicles continues to rise and marketing teams often present the latest EV model as the most superior electric car ever made. It’s no surprise that most OEM’s receive such news with enthusiasm. Unfortunately, the retail network is less passionate, and some sales consultants seem pessimistic.

This ‘superior’ car is just like a normal car and the complaints about charging points availability, price, recharging times, price and range seem to be becoming harsher. This has frustrated many car sales people, and yet business goes on as usual.

And here is what customers are thinking…
EVs have presented a unique opportunity for us marketers and sales people to learn more about customer’s perceptions and the benefits and constraints.

1. Communicate effectively: One thing we all know is that Electric Vehicles aren’t an answer to all requirements but can satisfy many of them. For instance, EVs are an excellent option for frequent urban journeys especially ones about 100 kilometers between EV charging points.

EVS are much cheaper for such travels than an Internal Combustion (IC) vehicles, less polluting, and offer pleasant driving experience.



An urban EV provides more ’zen’ drive because there is no gearbox, clutch, and torque is available immediately. Driving an EV allows you to take advantage of energy regeneration and use one pedal to accelerate or stop the car.

As a marketer, you should explain the real benefits of using an EV effectively. Rather than giving general information about the EVs, offer specific details about these products.

Customers love experiments as part of the learning process. Everyone wishes to drive an EV to know its benefits. Thus, it’s wise to promote numerous test-drive sessions.

2. Avoid overselling: Appealing, detailed explanations about a product don’t blend well with commercial pressures. EVs should be sold with a less-selling approach. The traditional car retail industry focuses on commercial pressures such as sales campaigns and incentives.

Such a sales strategy is difficult for marketing personnel to adopt consistently. Perhaps the ‘agency’ concept with ‘Product Genius’ used by BMW i is a perfect option for Electric Vehicles.

This is because there is a low level of product competition in this market. In case your brand lacks this solution, consider using sales EV professionals with a significant geographic reach.

3. Going social is also effective: As mentioned earlier, client education is a priority when it comes to EV marketing. Ric Dean, CEO at Caffeinated advises the use of social media platforms and blogger outreach to get in front of a target audience easily. EV marketers can use text, videos, and images to engage their audience.

Instead of focusing just on brand content, the marketers can create relevant videos explaining about the product. They can also record videos while driving these vehicles in recognizable roads and upload them on social media platforms.

Such genuine and professional marketing on social media platforms will make your target audience trust your brand.

4. Put more emphasis on novelty
All vehicles, whether gasoline or electric, offer varied driving experience and have different features. However, they are very similar, and most users don’t notice much difference between different vehicles even after changing cars. Electric Vehicles are refreshingly new.

They offer a unique driving experience, new sensations, and more. While all innovations have downsides, novelty is a great selling argument.

5. Always have an open mind
Many Electric Vehicle critics tend to miss some ‘petrol-pleasures’ such as manual gearbox, the sound of a petrol engine. In most cases, they complain about the typical downsides of EVs such as high prices, depreciation risks, and more.



Most industry insiders are ‘technologically nostalgic,’ missing manual parking breaks rather than electronic ones, carburetors when injections were introduced, and more.

Even if you own a powerful ‘flat six’ consider the fact that EV s can offer a more pleasant experience just like the dynamic mode of the BMW i3 illustrates.

Indeed, the varied driving modes of this EV are equivalent to the internal combustion engine’s downsizing trend; electronics facilitate excellent performance with the consequent effect on fuel consumption, and small, efficient engines facilitate great a great economy at low speeds and turbo. Keep in mind that customer choice is based on how to use the engine.

One thing is certain; vehicle electrification is a trend you can’t ignore. From simple systems (start-stops) to full vehicle electrification, you have a range of options to consider and each vehicle will provide at least a good solution. You shouldn’t think of the EV technology with an ICE mindset.

The sole element that needs to be developed to solve most issues associated with EVs is the battery. Given the recent developments in this industry, it’s highly predictable that the EV battery will evolve at a faster rate as compared to the entire IC engine technology.

Thus, when marketing your EVs, approach the subject with an open mind and understand that over time, different aspects of the product are likely to change.

Author Bio: Michael Swift is a connector with Caffeinated which helps businesses find their audience online.