Dealers tell Vermont lawmakers EV delivery rules, truck shortfalls and fuel tariffs could strain local businesses

Matt Gota, a trade-association consultant who said he represents Vermont dealers and fuel interests, told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on Feb. 11 that auto dealers have spent heavily preparing for electric vehicles but face new pressure from state-adopted delivery requirements and truck rules. "You can't sell a car if it can't drive off the lot," Gota said, describing dealer investments in chargers and technician training.

The testimony centered on how Vermont's adoption of California-style "advanced clean" vehicle rules and the Climate Action Plan goals intersect with dealer economics, truck availability and state fuel flows. Gota said new-vehicle registrations with a plug now represent about 12% of new vehicle deliveries in Vermont, and cited AOT and industry figures that put total plug‑in registrations in the state in the mid‑teens of thousands.

Why it matters: committee members heard that the mandate to have manufacturers deliver a higher share of plug‑in vehicles to Vermont (Gota described a 35% delivery target for model year 2026 under the advanced clean car standard) is imposed on manufacturers, not consumers, but leaves local dealers with inventory and financing risk. Gota said manufacturers can comply by shipping more electric models to dealers, by owners buying credits from other manufacturers, or by changing the mix of vehicles sent to particular dealers; each option has local consequences.

Gota described three business pressures for dealers: the capital cost to stock new vehicles (dealerships typically finance inventory), the cost of charging infrastructure and certifications for mechanics, and the risk that vehicles dealers are required to take in will not match their local customers' preferences. He told lawmakers that the National Automobile Dealers Association had quantified multi‑billion‑dollar investments nationally to prepare dealer facilities and workforces for electrification.

Committee members pressed for specifics. Gota said Efficiency Vermont's Drive Electric grants can help but called them small relative to dealer investments. He said federal tax incentives (including the federal EV tax credit) and market incentives have supported adoption but do not eliminate dealer carrying costs.

Trucks: Gota said the advanced clean truck pathway contains a distinct compliance and registration requirement that makes the problem sharper for commercial vehicles. He said many electric trucks are not yet commercially available, are priced several times higher than diesel models, and that the truck charging network and vehicle range do not meet many commercial needs. For certain classes of trucks the manufacturer receives credit only if the vehicle is registered in the state where the truck is delivered, limiting the ability of a business to buy an out‑of‑state vehicle to avoid a local inventory shortfall. "You can't get the trucks your customers want in cars, and in the trucks, I can't even get the ones that you're required to have," Gota said.

State revenue and cross‑border sales: Gota warned that if consumers buy or register vehicles out of state, Vermont still collects purchase/use taxes on a vehicle registered in Vermont, but local dealers may lose sales. He said dealers near state borders that operate in multiple states (New York, New Hampshire) have more flexibility to move inventory among franchises.

Fuel, tariffs and heating oil: Gota also detailed liquid‑fuel supply chains and said roughly one‑third of Vermont's liquid fuels (heating oil, propane and some transport fuels) come from Canada, with terminals in Portland, Portsmouth and Providence serving parts of the state. He said Vermont consumption is on the order of hundreds of millions of gallons annually and that a hypothetical 10% tariff on Canadian product would shift more deliveries to U.S. ports and terminals, increasing transport distances and disrupting supplier arrangements. "If the commodity cost is $2.50, a 10% tariff is 25 cents a gallon — that math drives trucks to different terminals," he said.

Regulatory context: Committee members noted that Clean Cars 2 was adopted by the Agency of Natural Resources under its rulemaking authority and that the legislature did not pass that specific rule as a bill. Representative Kathleen James, the committee chair, reminded members that agencies have rulemaking power while the legislature can change statutes that govern agency authority.

The committee did not take formal action on the testimony. Members asked Gota for additional data on multistate dealers and said they would invite him back to continue discussion on trucks and heating-season issues.