Buick Offers Dealers Buyout Option As Electric Car Plans Accelerate

[RV_]

I was surprised to see this so soon. Investors need to know these kinds of facts as the landscape changes are accelerating. I have mentioned before that the manufacturers can't compete with EV brands that don't have to pay middlemen to sell them. Dealers do not want to sell EVs because there is little service and repair profits in them. For what little maintenance and crash repairs are needed all new tools etc are required. And dealers will not stand for their own manufacturers competing with them.

Excerpt:

"Following a successful campaign at Cadillac last year, GM will offer a buyout to Buick dealers who do not want to sell electric cars.

If you own a new car dealership, preparing to sell electric cars can be an expensive proposition. Service people need to be retrained, new tools and diagnostic equipment need to be purchased, and charging equipment needs to be installed. The cost of all that can range from $200,000 to $500,000 per dealership and not everyone is thrilled about that.

The Buick division of General Motors intends to only manufacture electric cars for its customers beginning in 2030. That’s five years sooner than California’s newly announced prohibition on the sale of cars and light duty trucks with gasoline or diesel engines. Following a policy that began with Cadillac dealers, Buick will offer all of its 2000 dealers in the US the opportunity to opt out of the electric car future. If they choose to accept the offer, they will receive a cash buyout in exchange for giving up their right to sell Buick automobiles, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Global Buick chief Duncan Aldred confirmed in an interview last week that a dealer who takes a buyout would give up the Buick franchise and no longer sell the brand, although nearly all Buick dealers also sell other GM models. “Not everyone necessarily wants to make that journey, depending on where they’re located or the level of expenditure that the transition will demand,” Aldred said. “So if they want to exit the Buick franchise, then we will give them monetary assistance to do so.” He declined to say how many dealers he expects to accept the buyout offer."

Source:

https://cleantechnica.com/2022/09/04/buick-offers-dealers-buyout-option-as-electric-car-plans-accelerate/

 

Edited September 5, 2022 by RV_