Kia America launched the fully redesigned, 2027 Telluride SUV during the LA Auto Show Media Day on November 20 — and the marketing around it shows dealers have some work to do to explain the increasingly electrified lineups of vehicles being developed in the coming years.
The automaker chose to highlight that the larger SUV is available with an optional, turbo-hybrid powertrain for the first time. On other models, Kia offers both plug-in hybrid and pure electric options.
Kia is not the only automaker offering multiple powertrain options. On display were a total of 65 pure electric vehicles and 60 hybrid models, including hybrid-electric and plug-in hybrids, an LA Auto Show representative told WardsAuto after walking the expansive floor to count them all up.
While the growth of electrified vehicle powertrains gives consumers more choices, for dealers, it means having to explain the difference options and benefits of each to car shoppers.
Although manufacturers offer some help in that area, marketing models with multiple powertrain options is a challenge for dealers, especially when facing competitors that offer only fully electric vehicles.
“When you look at our dealers, it is more challenging for them to market because now I am not just marketing to one small audience, I am marketing to this audience that is looking at sedans, this audience looking at SUVs, this at audience is looking at EVs,” said Russell Wager, VP of marketing at Kia America, in a WardsAuto interview at the automaker’s booth during Media Day.
Kia dealers have access online to information about all of the automaker’s powertrain technologies, Wager said. During new model launches, Kia trainers visit each of the automaker’s more than 800 U.S. dealerships to give salespeople model-specific materials and training. When there is a new model refresh, information is offered online.
Having knowledgeable salespeople is crucial because explaining the difference between various electrified powertrains to a customer is not simple, Wager said. “I’m not going to do it in a 30 second TV slot,” he said.
Wager also said that Kia dealer salespeople have an app on their tablet computers to show customers the different powertrain choices.
Subaru dealers “are doing training now” regarding different powertrains, Aaron Cole, a Subaru of America product communications manager, told WardsAuto.
Subaru currently sells two hybrid models, the Crosstrek and Forester, as well as one pure electric SUV, the Solterra, which was co-developed with Toyota. The automaker will introduce two new pure electric models in Spring 2026, including a compact SUV called the “Unchartered.”
Cole said the Subaru “consistently” holds training events for its 640 U.S. dealers on how to talk to consumers about the “unique benefits” of its hybrid system. The training is part of “consistent ongoing communications” with its dealer network.
Those events last two or three days and include classroom learning as well as driving the new vehicles. Subaru recently also held an off-road driving event for all its dealers in Southern California, said Cole.
The hybrid bridge
Selling a consumer on a hybrid is probably the lowest bar to clear when it comes to selling powertrain options, said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds, a car research and buying site.
“As we go towards electrification, the new standard has become hybrids as the default option for vehicles,” she told WardsAuto on the show floor. “The key for consumers is fuel economy. If they like the way their car drives, hybrid is like a feature they like.”
Kia’s hybrid models cost around $2,000 more than the comparable non-hybrid gas version, Wager said, so the company’s training for selling hybrids focuses on the added miles per tank of gas.
“The best way to position hybrid is, if for a little bit more, you get a lot more,” he said.
Unenthusiastic EV sales staff
However, one hurdle in selling EVs is a lack of enthusiasm among dealership sales staff, according to CDK Global, a software and services provider to dealerships. The company says that 49% of sales teams at the 250 dealerships it surveyed were “not excited” to sell EVs.
Considering the popularity of EVs in California, its no suprise that dealers in the Pacific region were the most enthusiastic, with 46% of sales staff feeling “moderately excited” or “very excited” to sell EVs.
Manufacturers must educate their dealers about selling EVs so those dealers can, in turn, educate consumers, Brian Maas, president of the California New Car Dealership Association, told WardsAuto in an email.
“California dealers provide the most face-to-face interaction with consumers and, when manufacturers invest in educating them, those dealers, in turn, help educate customers, further building brand trust and loyalty,” Maas said.
He urged manufacturers to “lean on” their dealers to provide that consumer education.
Nine CNCDA executives, including Maas, walked the LA Auto Show floor on media day.
The DTC competition
An additional challenge for franchised dealers is competing against automakers selling their EVs directly to consumers, including Rivian.
Rivian, which sells a small portfolio of pure EVs, had a booth at the show. Startup automaker Slate, which aims to start delivering a no-frills, affordable pure electric pickup direct to consumers in late 2026, held an evening off-site event for automotive journalists on Media Day.
Even some traditional automakers are toying with direct to consumer sales. Sony Honda Mobility Inc., the joint venture between Sony and Honda Motor Co., invited media and vendors to a special showing in Los Angeles of the first model from its Afeela EV brand. The plan for Afeela is to sell its EVs directly to consumers, but the CNCDA has filed a lawsuit to block such sales.
To be sure, these startups have an advantage when marketing an EV direct to consumers because they have “one small audience that talks about one small message and that’s it,” Wager said.
But established automakers like Kia have “large audiences, multiple audiences, larger portfolios with more choice and more volume, and we plan to grow,” he said. “So, we’re not done.”
