The Center for Sustainable Energy and the National Automobile Dealers Association have launched an online electric vehicle sales training certification program designed to empower dealership staff to educate car shoppers about the advantages of driving electric.

The organizations said the ElectrifIQ training program is aimed at training auto sales staff to better educate their customers and address their questions.

Annual EV sales surpassed 1 million units for the first time in 2023, but many consumers lack information about them. NADA and CSE have joined to train frontline dealership sales staff to answer consumers’ questions about EVs and help them navigate the evolving EV landscape.

ElectrifIQ, which is open to sales staff of all NADA member dealerships, is designed to complement manufacturer-specific training by providing impartial, concise information to help sales staff address customer questions such as:

— Will an EV meet my driving needs?
— How long does it take to charge?
— How much does home charging cost?
— What is the total cost of EV ownership?
— Are incentives available to reduce costs?

“America’s franchised car and truck dealers are doing their part to be ready for the electrification of the fleet and to maximize turnover of the country’s retail and commercial vehicle fleets,” NADA president and CEO Mike Stanton said in a news release.

“This training program leverages the strengths of NADA and CSE and will ensure dealers are well prepared to sell and service electric vehicles now and as the electrification space continues to evolve and grow.”

CSE serves as an administrator of statewide EV incentive programs that is says have helped put more than 600,000 EVs on the road, and has provided EV training and resources for dealer associations in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Oregon.

“Auto dealer sales staff sits in the ideal spot — at the point of sale — to help each new car buyer choose to go electric,” CSE president Lawrence Goldenhersh said. “ElectrifIQ is the right-time-right-place training solution to ensure sales staff can confidently and accurately answer the car buyer’s EV questions, empowering consumers to move from a fossil fuel vehicle to an EV.”

More information is available at electrifiq.org.