Photo: John Caskey for electrek.co
There’s aggressive marketing and then there’s whatever this is: a local Lexus dealership is spamming Tesla owners in the hope of getting them to trade in their EVs for a Lexus hybrid or ICE.
John Caskey lives in Lakeway, outside of Austin, Texas, and he owns a Tesla. He tells Electrek he received a flier in the mail at his home, from the Lakeway Lexus dealership that was meant to get him to go back to a gas-powered vehicle. Or a hybrid, at best.
He doesn’t know how the dealership was able to track him down, or any of the other Tesla owners in the area.
“Trade in your Tesla! You’ve had your fun, now it’s time for zero compromise,” the flier says in All-Caps.
In return, he was promised a cash incentive even if he didn’t trade in his Tesla, and “top dollar” if he did. He’d also get “zero compromise” on the car and would never have to worry about the much-talked-about range anxiety again.
The deal also promised the services of a local dealer network and no delay in receiving necessary parts. The flier also included this rather hilarious note about how Lexus was the best choice: “Lexus is the #1 luxury brand as per JD Power in terms of initial quality and vehicle dependability, and #2 in customer satisfaction.”
Number one is Tesla, according to Electrek, so this pro argument loses all weight right away.
When the auto industry is heavily focused on going electric, this marketing move seems backward even if it does make some financial sense (the dealer is looking to unload inventory and is apparently desperate to get it done quickly). Dealerships have their own ad contracts and often choose to promote their products and services without the prior approval or knowledge of the maker. This could be one of those cases.
He doesn’t know how the dealership was able to track him down, or any of the other Tesla owners in the area.
“Trade in your Tesla! You’ve had your fun, now it’s time for zero compromise,” the flier says in All-Caps.
In return, he was promised a cash incentive even if he didn’t trade in his Tesla, and “top dollar” if he did. He’d also get “zero compromise” on the car and would never have to worry about the much-talked-about range anxiety again.
The deal also promised the services of a local dealer network and no delay in receiving necessary parts. The flier also included this rather hilarious note about how Lexus was the best choice: “Lexus is the #1 luxury brand as per JD Power in terms of initial quality and vehicle dependability, and #2 in customer satisfaction.”
Number one is Tesla, according to Electrek, so this pro argument loses all weight right away.
When the auto industry is heavily focused on going electric, this marketing move seems backward even if it does make some financial sense (the dealer is looking to unload inventory and is apparently desperate to get it done quickly). Dealerships have their own ad contracts and often choose to promote their products and services without the prior approval or knowledge of the maker. This could be one of those cases.
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