Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Final planning for this year's Buffalo Auto Show is in the works and there will be a focus on electric vehicles for sure.
Paul Stasiak heads up the Niagara Frontier Auto Dealers Association and tells WBEN this will be an educational experience for many as the emphasis will be on EVs.
Stasiak says next week's show will have a massive focus on EVs, adding, "We recognize that this this is something that will be forthcoming. Our dealers want to clearly send a message that they are all in."
Stasiak says dealers are preparing as best they can for the shift to EV's at their facilities. "The dealers can only prepare as much as the manufacturer gives them vehicles," says Stasiak. "Our dealerships are doing the steps they can ... to add chargers to add new lifts to buy forklifts that are heavier to move the battery. So our dealers are well positioned for the inventory that they're going to receive from the manufacturer." Stasiak notes otherwise, it's a wait and see mode for dealers, as they get positioned for EVs.
Stasiak notes there have been two schools of thought when it comes to EVs. "I believe you've got those that are very, very astute to the energy value that EVs bring in ecological value. And then you still got that group that is very skeptical. They do not know whether the electric vehicle will work," says Stasiak. He says this is why the Auto Show will be important this year. "It's going to be an educational process for the consumers, not just a show and tell. Customers can get in it and talk to experts about range, household charging systems, talking about travel access. So we're trying to use this show to dispel the myth that it's not good for everybody."
One thing that surprises Stasiak is an electric vehicle is Truck of the Year. "It was the Ford lightning (pictured above), which really surprised a lot of us are such a new entry. So the vehicle made a truck in a year and only a couple short years. So that's a sign of the things ahead," says Stasiak.
The Auto Show runs February 2nd through the 5th at the Buffalo Convention Center.