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Gov. DeSantis signs car dealership protection bill banning most direct-to-consumer auto sales
Florida Politics ^ | June 14, 2023 | Jesse Scheckner

Posted on 06/14/2023 1:20:22 PM PDT by conservative98

Tesla got a carve-out.
 

It’s a good day for auto dealers in the Sunshine State, and not so great for motorists who’d prefer a more direct route for buying a new coupe, sedan or SUV. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure (HB 637) banning most direct-to-consumer vehicle sales, solidifying the future viability of car-selling operations across the Sunshine State.

The measure, championed and authored by lobbyists representing the Florida Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), prohibits automakers from selling vehicles directly to buyers.

That restriction, which goes into effect July 1, was considered a direct threat to the business model of Tesla, an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer that — unlike other car companies — sells its vehicles online and through retail locations rather than third-party dealers.

But as Florida Politics noted previously, lobbyists, including Taylor Biehl and Jeff Sharkey of Tallahassee-based Capitol Alliance Group, hammered out a deal adding language to the bill that should keep Tesla galleries open.

The change confirms manufacturers are authorized to hold a franchise dealer license for direct sales of EVs if the manufacturer is not otherwise prohibited under federal law. That carve-out apparently does not extend to traditional manufacturers such as GM, Ford, Honda and Toyota, all of which now make battery-powered cars.

HB 637 — which cleared both chambers of the Legislature with just two “no” votes, from Democratic Reps. Anna Eskamani and Angie Nixon — also bars manufacturers from reserving or incentivizing the sale or lease of vehicles, including electric or hybrid cars.

Refusing to provide a dealer with a supply of new vehicles by model, mix or color equitable to that of other dealers is forbidden too.

So is requiring dealers to set vehicle prices at rates manufacturers recommend, locking in the long-standing but tedious tradition of buyers having to negotiate with salespeople whose individual profits benefit from ballooned price points.

Dave Ramba, a longtime lobbyist for FADA, said the measure will ensure there is competition among dealers, which leads to better prices and services for consumers.

“The attempt by auto manufacturers to cut out the dealer would only result in higher prices and less customer service to the public,” he said. “The new car dealer is the customer’s advocate when it comes to warranty work and service on a manufacturer’s product, and this bill will protect that.”

Some economists have said the opposite, advising that states should loosen strictures on direct sales of new vehicles if they want to help consumers get lower prices. That’s hardly a new position. In their 2017 study, “Retail Auto Sales: Tesla v. State Vehicle Franchise Laws,” Fiona Scott Morton of the Yale School of Management and Ann McDermott of Blue Sky Consulting Group  noted that concern about experience dealer licensing dates back decades and is widespread in economics literature.

“By allowing their vehicle dealer licensing laws to be hijacked to protect incumbent franchised dealers and their manufacturers, states are picking winners and losers in the U.S. auto industry,” they wrote.

In 2014, while commenting on several New Jersey bills concerning direct-to-consumer auto sales, staff from the Federal Trade Commission said, “Our principle point is this: absent some legitimate public purpose, consumers would be better served if the choice of distribution method is left to motor vehicle manufacturers and the consumers to whom they sell their products.”

As detailed by investigative reporter Jason Garcia in his blog, Seeking Rents, more than 70 professors across the country signed an open letter in April 2021 urging calling the current sales arrangements in place “written for the mid-20th Century” and urging states to let manufacturers sell cars directly to the public.

Garcia also delved into the many donations auto dealers gave to Florida politicians, including more than $2 million to DeSantis in the last two years, $230,000 to political committees controlled by Senate President Kathleen Passidomo and $50,000 to Sen. Ben Albritton.

Jason Shoaf of Live Oak sponsored the measure in the House with support from fellow Republican Reps. Melony BellPatt ManeyRalph Massullo and Brad Yeager.

One week after Shoaf filed the bill, car dealership chain Braman Motors gave $10,000 to his political committee, Protect Our Florida Values, and another $2,500 a week after that. He’s received more than $30,000 from auto dealers since December 2021.

Bryan Ávila carried the bill’s Senate analog (SB 712) with co-sponsorship from Ileana Garcia, a fellow Republican from Miami-Dade County. Avila’s political committee, Fighting for Florida’s Families, has accepted $18,000 from auto dealers since 2020. Garcia has received $9,000 from dealers through her campaign account, mostly from Braman Motors, and another $14,500 through her political committee, No More Socialism, over the same time span.

As the measure advanced during Session earlier this year, numerous lobbyists met with its sponsors to fine-tune its language. Among them: Teye Carmichael and Matt Bryan of Smith Bryan & Myers, who represented JM Family Enterprises; Brad Burleson of Ballard Partners, who represented FADA; Ron Book, who represented AutoNation; Travis Blanton of Johnson & Blanton, who represented the Alliance for Automotive Innovation; Adam Basford and Brewster Bevis of Associated Industries of Florida; and Fred Baggett of Greenberg Traurig, who represented Ford Motor Company.



TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: 2manylaws; 2manytaxes; autodealers; autosales; bullshit; capitolalliancegroup; carprices; cars; circlejerk; cronycapitalism; d2c; dealerships; democratunderground; desantis; desantisobsession; donors; electric; elonmusk; evs; fada; florida; ford; gm; hitpiece; horseshit; jeffsharkey; lobbyists; musk; nodonationsforfr; onlineautosales; onlinecarsales; rondesantis; shitpost; stealerships; taylorbiehl; tesla; trumptards; twitter; vehiclesales
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1 posted on 06/14/2023 1:20:22 PM PDT by conservative98
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To: conservative98

Discuss amongst yourselves.


2 posted on 06/14/2023 1:21:05 PM PDT by conservative98
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To: conservative98

What can I do to have you put me in the White House today?

3 posted on 06/14/2023 1:24:59 PM PDT by Tench_Coxe (The woke were surprised by the reaction to the Bud Light fiasco. May there be many more surprises)
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To: conservative98

i’m against this only for the reason a middleman drives the cost up.


4 posted on 06/14/2023 1:25:59 PM PDT by SPDSHDW (Ron DeSantis. The latest GOPe champion in a long list of winners. Jeb! Mitt Romney, and John McStain)
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To: conservative98

Unfortunately, the internet is a genie that can’t be put back into the bottle. Amazon is the most evil genie of the bunch.


5 posted on 06/14/2023 1:26:19 PM PDT by Right Brother
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To: conservative98

https://twitter.com/i/status/1669075318659850247


6 posted on 06/14/2023 1:26:33 PM PDT by 4Liberty (Dems loot & riot -called "protesting" by media. Repub's protest -called "looting & rioting" by media)
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To: conservative98

Sounds like the Charlie Crist Republicans are still in charge of Tallahassee.


7 posted on 06/14/2023 1:26:35 PM PDT by I got the rope
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To: conservative98

Is he becoming a Democrat?


8 posted on 06/14/2023 1:26:38 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: SPDSHDW

But you are okay with unlimited government regulations?


9 posted on 06/14/2023 1:27:40 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Looks to me like he’s always been Deep State.


10 posted on 06/14/2023 1:28:31 PM PDT by mewzilla (We will never restore the republic if we don't first secure the ballot box.)
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To: conservative98

Don’t know if it happens in Fl.

But MANY dealers up in the NE are adding “dealer fees” many times in excess of $10k on top of the sticker price.

in a direct to consumer model, that would not be possible. As the MFR would not add not accounted for fees on top of the sticker price.


11 posted on 06/14/2023 1:28:36 PM PDT by uranium penguin
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To: uranium penguin

Get in contact with the manufacturer of any dealer doing this.

The manufacturer will not be amused.


12 posted on 06/14/2023 1:29:41 PM PDT by mewzilla (We will never restore the republic if we don't first secure the ballot box.)
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To: conservative98

New Mexico has a law like this. Tesla got around it by putting showrooms on Indian Reservations, which are sovereign nations.


13 posted on 06/14/2023 1:30:08 PM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: conservative98

Why is the government involved in this?


14 posted on 06/14/2023 1:30:54 PM PDT by nesnah (Infringe - act so as to limit or undermine [something]; encroach on)
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To: conservative98

Some cartels are more equal than others.


15 posted on 06/14/2023 1:31:36 PM PDT by 13foxtrot
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To: conservative98

What does this mean for the cash buyer?


16 posted on 06/14/2023 1:31:38 PM PDT by Irish Eyes
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To: conservative98

Buggy whip manufacturers win another one!


17 posted on 06/14/2023 1:31:51 PM PDT by DouglasKC
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To: Right Brother
Unfortunately, the internet is a genie that can’t be put back into the bottle. Amazon is the most evil genie of the bunch.

Regarding the internet, I'd day that Google is more evil than Amazon.

Google controls people's perception of reality through its biased search results. Amazon destroys Main Street retailers, but Google destroys our minds.

Wikipedia is also pretty bad, with its cherry-picked sources to create a false narrative.

Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Only Fans ... there's a lot of evil to choose from.

18 posted on 06/14/2023 1:33:04 PM PDT by Angelino97
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To: conservative98
I'm against this. This reminds me of a classic problem with health insurance from many states limiting available plans to only plans originating from in-state health insurers.

As bad as Obamacare is (especially given that, at the time, it included a lot of mandates that fortunately aren't enforced), I have to admit that the pre-Obama regulations by many states for in-state-only plans was possibly just as bad. This horribly limited competition and drove up prices while limiting options. (Of course, many states had other regulations limiting health insurance options, but that's for another topic.)

19 posted on 06/14/2023 1:34:31 PM PDT by Tell It Right (1st Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: conservative98

That will be worth a few campaign donations. Everything is for sale with these globalists.


20 posted on 06/14/2023 1:36:12 PM PDT by JoSixChip (2020: The year of unreported truths; 2021: My main take away from this year? Trust no one.)
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