General Motors & Buick Offers Buyout Assistance to its U.S. Dealers

General Motors & Buick is helping dealers who don’t want to make investments related to the brand’s all-electric transition by softening the transition away from Buick vehicles. To that end, the carmaker has offered all 2,000 of its dealerships a buyout deal that, according to reports, ranges from $200,000 into the seven-figure range.

Buick’s shift to electric vehicles may be good for the environment, but it’s not an all-around good deal for the carmaker’s dealers throughout the United States. Buick’s preferred assistance is in recognition that electric vehicles are not desirable or affordable, in some parts of the country, particularly in rural areas.

Buick CEO Duncan Aldred also admitted that many dealers simply aren’t prepared for the price tag that goes along with such a broad-based transition. A key component of that transition is for Buick dealers to bear the cost and labor associated with installing electric charging stations throughout their sales territories.

Change on the Horizon

Buick’s buyout offer is a welcome form of financial assistance to dealers who are unable or unwilling to take on the cost of training personnel and the required investment in electrical charging equipment. Dealerships also face a potential loss of maintenance revenue since electric vehicles do not require as much physical upkeep as gas-powered vehicles.

Plans are for Buick, as well as Cadillac dealers, to sell only electric vehicles by 2030. According to Buick’s timeline, 2024 is a significant milestone in this plan because 2024 is when Buick plans to introduce its first electric vehicle into the U.S. market.  Accordingly, every subsequent Buick will be called Electra, followed by an alphanumeric indicator of style and size. The batteries on which these vehicles will run are based on the Ultium packs and motors carried by other GM EVs.

High Hopes

This plan, which originated with GM, targets popular locations that get a high volume of visitors, such as coffee shops, restaurants, and shopping centers. From a public relations standpoint, it is hoped that such charging facilities will help raise the community profile of electric vehicles and stir interest in the benefits of electric vehicles.

These community chargers would be equipped to charge virtually any EV sold in the U.S. It is hoped that dealers would be successful in installing 40,000 electric connectors by 2025. However, the requisite cost and effort involved have left some Buick dealers concerned about the long-term cost of such a project and their ability to carry it through to completion.