Rick Hendrick Says You Can't Force Customers to Buy EVs If They Don't Want 'Em

You already know by now that electric vehicles are becoming more and more commonplace. Nearly every automaker sells at least one battery electric model, and then there are dedicated EV brands like Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid right here in the United States. However, that doesn't mean they're for everyone and it doesn't mean selling EVs is easy, as legendary NASCAR team owner and mega car dealer Rick Hendrick will tell you.

"The customer is going to dictate what you build. I’ve been in the automobile business for almost 50 years, and you can’t force customers to buy what they don’t want," Hendrick told Basem Wasef in a recent interview with Robb Report. "We were too aggressive with the EV market ... I think the EV market will be there one day, but we’re not ready for it."

There's certainly some truth to that, as electric vehicles simply don't fit the bill for everyone's lives yet. Almost all legacy car brands like Mercedes, Audi, and even Lexus as Hendrick mentioned, are struggling to sell EVs at anywhere near the same pace as their standard cars.