Business View Magazine June 2023

50 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 6 it comes to EV purchases, with 35-40% increases in overall sales just in the last 6 years. “We started with minuscule numbers— numbers in the hundreds—but at last glance, our total EV registration in Missouri was at around 13,000 vehicles,” Smith reports. There’s no question that Missourians are making progress in EV adoption; what remains to be seen is how the state will meet the energy demand required for EV recharging. “We’re lagging in charging infrastructure, I will say that,” Smith admits. “Until we have charging stations every 25 to 50 miles—until we double, or even triple the amount we have right now—I think we’re going to keep seeing EVs as a future consideration and not a current purchasing decision. Nobody wants to be stranded in rural Missouri without a charging option.” The biggest piece MADA is focusing on is preparing its membership for a potential downfall in the industry in terms of sales and operations this year. “All those factors—the interest rates, vehicle affordability, wholesale prices, direct manufacturer sales—that’s something we’ll fight until I’m told not to fight it,” Smith says. “We’ll do everything we can to work with automakers on some kind of resolution that they can live with. But ultimately, our job is to protect our business model which has worked for 100 years, and make sure that our small businesses—those who’ve made the investments they’ve made in their communities and the state of Missouri—are as comfortable as possible when it comes to planning for the future.”