At the start of next year, Washington state shoppers will for the first time be able to visit showrooms for Rivian and Lucid Motors, take a test drive, discuss financing, and walk out with keys to their new electric vehicle.
State lawmakers this week passed Senate Bill 6354, allowing the two EV makers to join Tesla in selling their vehicles directly to consumers, bypassing auto dealers that sell every other make of car. SB 6354 passed with overwhelming support in the Senate and House, and proponents are confident Gov. Bob Ferguson will sign the measure.
“This bill is a big step forward in making EVs more accessible in Washington,” said Leah Missik, Washington legislative director for the nonprofit Climate Solutions.
Rivian and Lucid have repeatedly tried to win this path to EV sales, but dealerships in the past have lobbied hard against expanding the exemption. They said manufacturers’ stores are more likely to be limited in number and located in urban settings, offering less access to repairs and recall fixes. The direct sales route eliminates the competition between auto dealerships, opponents argued.
The dynamic shifted when Rivian recently launched an effort to put the issue before voters in November. The initiative campaign pledged to raise more than $20 million and had contributions of nearly $4.7 million so far.
Unlike the ballot route, the legislative process gave dealers a formal role in shaping the final rules and the result shows it: The bill narrowly limits the exemption and blocks smaller and emerging automakers from direct sales. Washington dealers this year testified in favor of SB 6354, with Greg Rairdon, whose family owns 13 franchise dealerships, calling it a “fair compromise.”
Manufacturers, however, including Honda, Ford, General Motors and a national automaker trade association argued against the bill.
The legislation’s other key features:
- Creates a $10,000 penalty for each vehicle sales or lease by manufacturers not approved for direct sales.
- Increases vehicle title fees from $15 to $40 through 2036, with the extra funds earmarked for support of EV purchase/lease by low-income and environmentally impacted populations, and for transit and pedestrian initiatives.
Oregon, California and many other states already allow all EV manufacturers to offer direct sales, while Washington lawmakers gave Tesla alone a direct sales exemption in 2014. Rivian and Lucid shoppers have had to purchase the cars out of state or online.
Washington’s leaders are looking for additional strategies to boost EV sales. The state is among those that joined California in requiring all new vehicles sold to be zero-carbon emissions by 2035. It’s an ambitious target and the Trump administration has challenged these efforts, cutting EV tax credits and working to nix California’s stronger pollution rules.
The state needs “to use every tool in our toolbox to cut climate pollution,” Missik said. “And expanding direct sales for EV manufacturers is one of them.”
