(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Illinois Automobile Dealers Association is appealing a court decision that allowed start-up electric automakers Rivian and Lucid to sell vehicles directly to consumers.
“We think the law is pretty clear: You can’t be a manufacturer and a dealer," the Executive Director of the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association said.
He told the Chicago Tribune, “The Illinois Vehicle Code basically states that you have to go through franchised dealers.”
Last month a Cook County judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by the association. The judge ruled the state was correct in issuing dealer licenses to Rivian and Lucid, as it did with Tesla.
McMahon argues that the state’s deal with Tesla was a one-time agreement with the Secretary of State to avoid litigation.
The Illinois attorney general’s office said in “an informal opinion” in 2020, the law does not expressly require new manufacturers to establish franchise dealerships to sell their vehicles.
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