Still, he believes dealers could better communicate EV capabilities and dispel myths to help on-the-fence shoppers make a decision.
“I think we’ll need to do some things on marketing and communicating more directly to EV buyers,” he said.
Agresta said the EV pivot has Mercedes dealers broadening their view of potential rivals and learning from their successes.
“Even if they’re not necessarily luxury competitors, if a customer is buying an EV from another brand, I view that as competition,” he said. “We’re definitely changing our mindset around some of the upstarts, looking at Tesla and Rivian and how we may be able to adapt our businesses to compete more directly with them. I do think there’s things we can learn and adapt within our framework.”
Agresta said Mercedes dealers have seen big demand for its newest products such as the EQB crossover, as well as EQS and EQE sedans.
“We have all these electrics coming to market to start our transition,” he said. “It’s been exciting to see that.”