Dealer News Today Podcasts · Dealer News Today

“We go very deep into the buyer’s psyche” || K.C. Boyce, Vice President of Automotive & Mobility and Energy, Escalent

·29 min·1 clip

Boyce says the U.S. is already at 6% EVs, but 21% of new buyers are “EV intenders.”

1. Dealer News Today episode 19 of season five features K.C. Boyce talking about EV adoption, dealership questions, and Escalent's automotive research. 2. Derek D hosts the conversation, and Boyce is Vice President of Automotive & Mobility and Energy at Escalent, a role tied to EV buyer studies and energy-market work. 3. The episode asks what dealers and automakers need to understand about the next wave of EV buyers, not just current EV owners. 4. Boyce says he grew up in the Detroit area, lives in Atlanta, and spent more than a decade in energy before moving into Escalent's automotive and mobility work. 5. He describes EV Forward, a study launched in 2019 to connect automotive, energy, and technology issues around charging and buyer behavior. 6. Boyce says the EV transition has to be viewed as an ecosystem, because cool EVs without charging infrastructure do not solve the problem. 7. He says his work now includes client interviews, data interpretation, product development guidance, and marketing strategy support. 8. Boyce says current EV owners are a unique breed, including people willing to accept lower range and sparse charging infrastructure. 9. He says many current buyers now want about 300 miles of range, because they may be commuting, taking cabin trips, or towing. 10. He says Escalent has studied the Tesla brand, dealership experience, the path to purchase, and the role of emotion in EV design. 11. Boyce says a new quantitative study found that emotion and design language play a real role in purchase consideration. 12. He says Tesla still has strong mindshare, while Lucid, Rivian, and Hyundai Ioniq 5 have lower awareness among many consumers. 13. He argues that dealers still matter because customers want a local, trusted source when they shop for vehicles. 14. Boyce says the U.S. EV market is about 6%, while Escalent's work identifies 21% of new-car buyers as EV intenders. 15. He says that 6% to 21% gap suggests EV share could climb faster than some forecasts if supply chain and inventory issues improve. 16. Boyce says one-pedal driving helped replace some of the fun he missed after leaving manual transmission cars. 17. He says EVs are smooth, quiet, quick, and engaging, even when the sound and shifting feel of combustion cars are gone. 18. The interview style is conversational and opinion-led, with Derek D challenging Boyce on range, towing, charging time, autonomy, and dealer readiness. 19. Listeners interested in EV adoption, dealership strategy, and automotive market research would get the most from it. 20. Listeners looking for a purely technical vehicle review or a short casual chat may skip it.

As heard by us

A plainspoken EV market check-in that keeps the dealer angle in view.

Dealer News Today keeps the focus on a simple mismatch: EV interest is broader than actual buying, and that gap is what gives the conversation its bite. K.C.

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Why you'd press play

You want a grounded read on EV demand and why dealers still matter.

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