Dan Christian has it right. Dealers make far more money servicing cars than they do selling them. Electric cars threaten their business model because they need far less service.
Car buyers are price sensitive and will shop around for a better deal. They often get the price down to a point where the dealer makes little or no profit. Selling cars is a loss leader to get you on board as a service customer.
Dealer car service is essentially a fixed-price monopoly so there isn’t any point to shopping around. The price you pay for service is ostensibly based on the number of hours it takes, but that number actually comes from a flat rate book that gives the amount of time that each service takes. The hourly rate varies among dealers but is usually identical or nearly identical at all dealers in a given area. The only real variation is between high and lower cost areas, but people aren’t going to travel hundreds of miles to save a bit on car service.
Independent shops aren’t a real option for newer cars. Warranty service has to be done by the dealer, and car makers will try really hard to declare your warranty invalid if you have anything at all done by an independent. Outside shops often can’t get the specialized equipment needed to work on newer cars, especially not technologically advanced models like electric and hybrid cars.
