GM Offers Interactive Educational Platform

LOS ANGELES – General Motors is expanding access to its EV Live interactive electric vehicle education platform. The goal is to educate both dealers and consumers about owning and driving battery-electric vehicles (BEVs).

“I think it is a helpful tool for all stakeholders,” Dan Broderick, managing partner at Cadillac of Beverly Hills (CA), tells Wards, adding it helps salespeople refine their sales skills. The dealership has used EV Live since its launch in late 2022.

EV Live allows users to access a video chat with a trained EV specialist in a studio that includes a charger and a BEV. The specialist can show a customer how to plug in a specific type of charger, such as a DC fast charger, among other instructions.

“We are not giving you a sales pitch. Our objective is to sell you on EV as a concept, as a lifestyle,” Hoss Hassani, GM’s vice president of EV Ecosystem, says.

Anyone can call in. EV Live receives calls from throughout the world from owners of all makes of EVs, Hassani says. “If you are a commercial customer looking to electrify your fleet, we can help with that,” he adds.

Dealers have options regarding how they want to utilize EV Live, says Caley Hill, GM’s manager of EV Ecosystem. Employees can have one-on-one sessions, or GM can organize staff training. The automaker is designing specific instructions around frequent topics, including home charging.

“A dealer might not even have an EV in the store, so they don’t know what they don’t know,” says Hill. “Our north star is to have the foremost EV specialists in the industry.”

The training can be tailored for different parts of the country, given that EV adoption varies widely. “California dealers are very capable but (more training might be needed) in markets where not as many EVs are sold,” says Hassani. “Dealers have an on-demand training platform (that) complements their sales effort.”

GM is exploring how EV Live can become part of a dealership’s showroom experience, says Hill. If a BEV shopper in the dealership has a question the employee can’t answer, the employee can contact EV Live right from the showroom, she explains.

Broderick, the Beverly Hills dealer, thinks the time is right for EV Live.“Every time an employee gets an answer to a question (via EV Live), they are better prepared the next time they get that question,” he says. “People are starved for information as it relates to EVs.”

Cadillac currently offers two BEVs, the Celestiq ultraluxury sedan (sold out until 2025) and the Lyriq SUV. GM plans to introduce three more Cadillac BEVs this year.