What this tire shop has learned about EVs

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While not handling much of the electrical, battery and other underhood components, tire dealers have been keeping busier as electric vehicles grow on North American roads.

Speaking at this year’s MEMA Aftermarket Suppliers Vision Conference in Detroit, John Baldwin, senior vice president of product at Discount Tire, shared insights into the unique challenges and opportunities presented by electric vehicles, particularly Teslas since that’s the most popular EV brand these days.

Specifically, the company had to learn a lot when electric vehicles became more common because these are heavier vehicles than internal combustion ones. For example, low-rise lifts — tire dealers need to ensure that their lifts are adequate to handle EVs, he said during the session, Voice of the End Customer.

“The lift points, the load capacity — all of those things — we have gone out of our way to learn,” Baldwin explained.

He noted that Discount Tire has become a go-to service provider for Tesla owners in many regions due to the overwhelmed state of Tesla service centers. “We get a ton of Tesla business. I would say, the majority of it, because their service centres are overwhelmed. And I don’t know that their service centres are excited to do tires, either.”

The company places a strong emphasis on in-store training to handle the particular needs of EVs.

“We do a lot of in-store training,” Baldwin pointed out, highlighting the need to stay ahead of the learning curve.

Chris Gardner, MEMA, hosts a Q&A with Discount Tire’s John Baldwin during the MEMA Vision Conference 2024

The company has also learned about its customers. “Most Tesla [owners] are pretty finicky about their vehicles. We have found that to be very true,” Balwin said.

However, EV owners seem to be taken aback by just how quickly tires can wear out on their vehicles.

“We do see a difference in mileage wear. Especially if you think about it, when Tesla first came out, they were not designed with tires in mind and their alignment wasn’t great,” Baldwin explained.

The high performance of EVs is a significant contributor to tire wear. “A normal EV can be a rocket. We’re not used to that,” Baldwin said, before humorously adding that “you can still roast the tires in 8,000 miles if you so desire. Harder to do in a Fiesta.”

Baldwin also touched on the behaviour of first-time EV buyers after their tires need replacement so soon after purchase.

“What we see [with] the first-time buyer, when they get their first set of tires replaced at about 8,000-10,000 miles [then they see the price tag] they get religion on ‘Maybe I don’t need that hammer every time I’m coming off the line.’ So that helps,” he said.

When separating out the heavy-footed behaviour with more conservative driving methods, Baldwin did note that EVs are wearing out tires at least 10 per cent faster than tires on an ICE vehicle. So EV owners are in their shops more often.

“So yeah, we’re big EV fans, if that’s what you’re asking,” he said tongue-in-cheek.