Climate Connections The policy change that could put more EVs on the road
Dec 3, 2025
Hannah Budd, a representative with the Carolina North Sustainable Energy Association, champions increased electric vehicle access in North Carolina. She discusses how current dealership laws hinder direct-to-consumer EV sales, limiting availability and consumer choice. By eliminating these restrictions, she argues, EV adoption could accelerate significantly. Hannah passionately advocates for policy changes that would empower consumers and welcome a broader range of EV brands into the state, energizing the market.
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Dealership Laws Shape Car Market Access
- Most new cars in the U.S. are sold through dealerships, creating structural limits on manufacturer sales.
- State laws protecting dealerships often prohibit direct-to-consumer sales, which constrains market access for some brands.
North Carolina's Limited EV Market
- Hannah Budd describes North Carolina's near-ban on direct-to-consumer EV sales and notes Tesla is the lone exception.
- She says other EV brands are simply unavailable there, reducing consumer choice and price options.
Enable Direct Sales To Boost EV Adoption
- Allow more direct-to-EV sales to expand consumer options and price points.
- Hannah Budd's group is pushing policy changes to accelerate EV adoption through direct sales.