By Nicholas Roddy, manager, Chevrolet Communications
By Nicholas Roddy, manager, Chevrolet Communications
DALLAS - Mark Eddins, owner of Friendly Chevrolet and 12-time Chevrolet Dealer of the Year, is an electric vehicle visionary.
Founded in 1956 by Mark’s father Roy Eddins, Friendly is one of the largest Chevy dealerships in the Dallas area by volume. It’s reached that position in part by focusing on customer service – and embracing change.
A few years ago, Eddins decided to support Chevrolet’s push into electric vehicles by building a charging facility open to all EV drivers – not just Chevy owners.
“I’ve always been a progressive dealer,” said Eddins, who recently celebrated his 41st anniversary as the head of Friendly. “I’ve always tried to be at the leading edge of technology, development, and marketing to capture as much of the market as possible and to sell Chevrolets.”
Eddins assembled a team of experts – architects, marketers, and electricians – to design a full-service EV charging park. He opened the park – dubbed “EVHQ” – at the dealership in March 2023.
The site includes eight 120 kW charging stations, all covered with canopies to protect the full-time workers from the Texas heat. EVHQ also offers an exclusive dog park, fire pit, and cafe.
Caption: Friendly Chevrolet in Dallas offers charger access to drivers of both GM and non-GM vehicles.
Charged up about EVs
One reason Eddins is doing this is to show off Chevy EVs to owners of more expensive brands.
“Only 25% of our monthly charging is Chevrolets,” says Eddins. “The other 75% is Porsche, Subaru, Mercedes, Volvo, BMW, Ford, Volkswagen…we get all of them.”
And when owners of other vehicles get there, and wait for their cars to charge, they often decide to check out the Chevys.
“One of the goals is to capture people that don’t have a Chevy, haven’t had a Chevy, and show them that General Motors has a competitive product that’s one-third the price of what they bought,” he says. “And it’s come to fruition.”
Capton: A view of the Friendly Chevrolet EVHQ charging site
Eddins says numerous charging customers have traded in other EVs for Chevrolets. He projects the park will have more than 10,000 unique EV charging customers this year and will supply about 2,000,000 kWh of energy in the process.
Looking ahead
Eddins says he’s always looking for new ways to reach and serve customers.
The “EVHQ” brand is copyrighted, and he’s considered opening other charging parks. But he’s also trying other new things. He’s also developed accounts with car rental and ride sharing companies, and believes dealers nationwide could use their facilities to do something similar.
Said Eddins: “Charging, as EVs become more prevalent in the marketplace in the next few years, could offer great opportunities to dealers.”
DALLAS - Mark Eddins, owner of Friendly Chevrolet and 12-time Chevrolet Dealer of the Year, is an electric vehicle visionary.
Founded in 1956 by Mark’s father Roy Eddins, Friendly is one of the largest Chevy dealerships in the Dallas area by volume. It’s reached that position in part by focusing on customer service – and embracing change.
A few years ago, Eddins decided to support Chevrolet’s push into electric vehicles by building a charging facility open to all EV drivers – not just Chevy owners.
“I’ve always been a progressive dealer,” said Eddins, who recently celebrated his 41st anniversary as the head of Friendly. “I’ve always tried to be at the leading edge of technology, development, and marketing to capture as much of the market as possible and to sell Chevrolets.”
Eddins assembled a team of experts – architects, marketers, and electricians – to design a full-service EV charging park. He opened the park – dubbed “EVHQ” – at the dealership in March 2023.
The site includes eight 120 kW charging stations, all covered with canopies to protect the full-time workers from the Texas heat. EVHQ also offers an exclusive dog park, fire pit, and cafe.
Charged up about EVs
One reason Eddins is doing this is to show off Chevy EVs to owners of more expensive brands.
“Only 25% of our monthly charging is Chevrolets,” says Eddins. “The other 75% is Porsche, Subaru, Mercedes, Volvo, BMW, Ford, Volkswagen…we get all of them.”
And when owners of other vehicles get there, and wait for their cars to charge, they often decide to check out the Chevys.
“One of the goals is to capture people that don’t have a Chevy, haven’t had a Chevy, and show them that General Motors has a competitive product that’s one-third the price of what they bought,” he says. “And it’s come to fruition.”
Eddins says numerous charging customers have traded in other EVs for Chevrolets. He projects the park will have more than 10,000 unique EV charging customers this year and will supply about 2,000,000 kWh of energy in the process.
Looking ahead
Eddins says he’s always looking for new ways to reach and serve customers.
The “EVHQ” brand is copyrighted, and he’s considered opening other charging parks. But he’s also trying other new things. He’s also developed accounts with car rental and ride sharing companies, and believes dealers nationwide could use their facilities to do something similar.
Said Eddins: “Charging, as EVs become more prevalent in the marketplace in the next few years, could offer great opportunities to dealers.”