Libian has filed a lawsuit in Ohio to allow electric vehicles to be sold directly to state consumers. This is the latest swing in a lasting battle between up-and-coming American automakers and the powerful dealer lobby that has taken hold.
The company sued the Ohio Motor Vehicle Department (BMV) registrar in federal court on Monday, alleging that the state was hurting consumers by blocking direct sales. Libian can now sell EVs directly to consumers in 25 states and in Washington, DC
The Ohio BMV did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“The ban on the direct sales-only business model in Libian, Ohio, is extremely irrational. It reduces competition, reduces consumer choice, and causes consumer costs and inconvenience.
Libian is asking the court to allow the company to apply for a dealer license so that the vehicle can be sold directly. Ohio customers must purchase from Libyan vehicles from locations in other states where direct sales are permitted. The car will then be shipped to the Libian Service Center in Ohio.
Allowing Libian to sell directly does not traverse the new legal foundation, the company argued in its complaint. Tesla has been licensed to sell in Ohio since 2013 and can be sold directly to consumers.
It is a 2014 law passed by the state legislature that has stopped Libian. That law, which Libian calls it, came after intense lobbying efforts by the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association (OADA), effectively gave Tesla sculptures and blocked future manufacturers from obtaining the necessary dealer licenses. (OADA did not immediately return a request for comment.)
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“Consumer choice is a bedrock principle of the American economy. The archaic ban on direct sales of vehicles in Ohio is unconstitutional and harmful in Ohio by reducing competition, choice and inconvenience and increasing inconvenience,” the Libian chief executive said in a statement.
Libian has so far won a legal battle for direct sales. In 2021, Libian and Lucid Motors were granted dealer licenses to sell EVs in Illinois. The state’s dealership association appealed to Libian and Kakui to block direct sales, but ultimately failed.
Meanwhile, Lucid Motors filed its own lawsuit in Texas in 2022, challenging its state’s direct sales ban. The court opposed the Id earlier this year, but the company appealed, federal court records show.
