General Motors will offer a buyout to any Buick dealer that isn’t willing to invest in the brand’s all-electric shift, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Buick’s plan to transition to exclusively selling electric vehicles could cost franchisees as much as $300,000 in renovations including new charging stations, piping and equipment to service EVs, the WSJ reported. GM previously offered a similar buyout to Cadillac franchises in a $275 million move that cut 575 franchises, roughly a third of Cadillac’s dealerships, from the market. (RELATED: Toyota Triples Down On EVs As Red States’ Green Windfall Continues)
“Not everyone necessarily wants to make that journey, depending on where they’re located or the level of expenditure that the transition will demand,” said Buick CEO Duncan Aldred to the WSJ. “So if they want to exit the Buick franchise, then we will give them monetary assistance to do so.”
Next stop? Our electrifying future. 📍 Don’t worry, we’ll drop a pin.https://t.co/b1HF84GxPk pic.twitter.com/dY3Hqy7YAf
— Buick (@Buick) August 17, 2022
Almost all Buick dealers sell other GM brands, most commonly GMC, and the buyout is unlikely to impact those operations. Aldred declined to say how many would be likely to take the buyout, or how much Buick expected the buyout program to cost, according to the WSJ.
Buick’s market share has been cut in half since 2000, down to merely 1.2%, with some franchises complaining there are far too many dealerships in the U.S., according to the WSJ. Buick sells four times as many cars in China as it does in the U.S.
GM is one of several automakers investing billions in the EV transition, with a $2.5 billion joint venture with LG Energy Solutions to produce a trio of factories in Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan, the WSJ reported. LG recently announced a $4.4 billion joint venture with Honda, with Hyundai and Ford announcing $5.5 billion and $5.8 billion EV plants as well.
General Motors declined to comment to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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