Up to half a million for dealers not wanting to buy EV infrastructure
Deal could help Cadillac weed out some smaller showrooms
Cadillac dealers who aren’t thrilled with the brand’s transition to electrification are getting an out, says a new report. The dealers are being offered up to half a million dollars to give up their franchise if they’re adamant that they don’t want to move to electric.
Last week, GM announced that Cadillac would be getting EVs sooner than they had said previously and that it is looking at the brand going EV-only by 2030. But some dealers don’t want to make the investment into adding charging stations, tools, and training for EVs, so Automotive News reports, GM is offering them a buyout in exchange for their franchise.
“We wanted to move fast and make sure dealers are ready for the acceleration,” Mahmoud Samara, vice president of Cadillac North America, told Automotive News. “This is purely an option for those dealers who feel the EV journey is not suitable for them.”
The offers range from US $300,000 to $500,000, according to the report, and all of Cadillac’s 880 US dealers are said to be eligible. Samara told AN he expected most of the brand’s dealers to make the move to EV, not to take the buyout. The report suggests that for some Cadillac dealers, who may sell only a few of the brand’s vehicles a month, the offer could represent up to 10 years of new-vehicle profits.
It’s not the first time Cadillac has encouraged some dealers to shut their doors, making smaller offers back in 2016 to low-volume stores, though the report says few took the offer. This time, though, Cadillac is sending a clear message to dealers, who can be averse to changing automotive and technology trends: EV up or get out.
