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BMW and Nissan are among the companies whose dealers tend to be more enthusiastic and informed, said Dr. Cahill, the scholar. He estimated that, over all, 10 percent of dealers are “really sharp” on the technology.

Marc Deutsch, Nissan’s business development manager for electric vehicles, said some salespeople just could not rationalize the time it takes to sell the cars. A salesperson “can sell two gas burners in less than it takes to sell a Leaf,” he said. “It’s a lot of work for a little pay.”

He also pointed to the potential loss of service revenue. “There’s nothing much to go wrong,” Mr. Deutsch said of electric cars. “There’s no transmission to go bad.” (As the Nissan website states: “Say goodbye to pricey oil changes and tuneups. With fewer moving parts than any car you’ve ever owned, the Nissan Leaf is ultra low maintenance.”)

Jared Allen, a spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association, said there was not sufficient data to prove that electric cars would require less maintenance. But he acknowledged that service was crucial to dealer profits.

According to the organization, dealers on average make three times as much profit from service as they do from new car sales. A 2013 J.D. Power survey of car buyers found that about 48 percent of electric car buyers planned to take their car back to the dealer for service, compared with 57 percent for traditional cars, noted Dr. Cahill, from U.C. Davis.

Maybe that helps explains the experience of Robert Kast, who last year leased a Volkswagen e-Golf from a local dealer. He said the salesman offered him a $15-per-month maintenance package that included service for oil changes, belt repair and water pumps.

“I said: ‘You know it doesn’t have any of those things,’” Mr. Kast recalled. He said the salesman excused himself to go confirm this with his manager. Of the whole experience, Mr. Kast, 61, said, “I knew a whole lot more about the car than anyone in the building.”