Car dealers in the ACT have expressed their annoyance at being forced to compete for electric vehicle sales with a part government-owned local electricity provider, in a move which has sparked the ire of the national dealer representative body.
ActewAGL, which as a subsidiary of Icon Water is half-owned by the ACT government, last month announced it would partner with Vyro, a self-described, online "brand agnostic" Sydney-based dealership focusing on electric vehicle sales.
The new relationship claims to deliver new EVs faster to customers by having supposedly "exclusive access" to some 40 vehicles - a claim disputed by the both the importers of the cars and their local retail networks.
The "evFind" service on the Vyro site a range of hotly sought-after electric cars offered for "immediate delivery" including the Chinese-built, Volvo-designed Polestar 2, Hyundai Kona, MG ZS EV, and Nissan Leaf.
Meanwhile, wait times stretching three months and beyond are being experienced by the authorised EV retail networks.
Hyundai Australia questioned the Vyro "immediate delivery" claim and says getting sufficient stock to fill existing orders was a "month by month challenge" even for the authorised importer, with current delivery times on its popular Kona Electric blown out by about three months.
"It's a very challenging situation to get any stock of electric cars and all the vehicles we get go out directly through our franchised dealer network to where customers are waiting for them," a Hyundai spokesman said.
"For some online business to claim they can get cars to customers faster than the official national distributor just doesn't make sense."
Vyro says it sources its range of used and new electric vehicles from "an extensive and often far reaching line of providers"
"In a supply constrained market, the company proactively deploys its extensive network of dealerships and manufacturers to get stock directly into the hands of consumers as fast as possible," the company said.
"If a customer orders a car from anywhere in the country that Vyro services, and the local dealerships don't have it, the company can have that car shipped from (for example) Darwin, where EVs are in low demand and much higher supply, in a very short time frame.
"Vyro monitors industry trends and supply data to plan and predict vehicle sales. In early 2022, the company began placing forward orders on a number of new EVs, which has allowed us to competitively offer these brands since."
It says "warranty and servicing is per the manufacturer's guidelines and can be provided by any branded dealership".
The Vyro-ActewAGL partnership, which has a separate finance arm, even competes for sales with online new car retailers like Tesla, which was couched as the "great disrupter" to the established retailing model through selling cars online only, but it committed to the ACT region through a shopfront in Civic and a service centre in Queanbeyan.
James Voortman, the president of the Australian Automotive Dealer Association, described ActewAGL's association with Vyro as "disappointing".
"The franchised new car dealers in the ACT employ more than 1000 Canberrans; they pay enormous sums in local rates and duties; they train local apprentices, and they support local sporting teams and charities," he said.
Mr Voortman said that that ActewAGL "which is half owned by the ACT government" should be partnering with and supporting local Canberran businesses, not doing business interstate.
"Franchised new car dealers have helped make the ACT the leading jurisdiction for electric vehicles in the face of a challenging global supply shortage," he said..
"We would urge ActewAGL and the government to support licensed Canberra dealerships who employ locals, pay their taxes locally and have close relationships with local customers."
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