General Motors is immersed in a complete electrification process that will take it the entire decade. The plans main banner in this new era will be its historic premium brand Cadillac, which will have the task of becoming a direct rival of Tesla through a firm commitment for the electric car and cutting-edge technology.
General Motors’ plans are to convert Cadillac into a 100% electric firm by 2030, with the imminent Lyriq and Celestiq being its first models of this type. However, this strategy has encountered a significant stumbling block in the United States: the rejection of some dealers to sell electric cars.
Companies like Tesla don’t have these kinds of problems because they have a direct sales network; in fact, Cadillac has been trying for several years (since 2016) to reduce its number of dealerships in the United States. Everything seems to indicate that General Motors will take advantage of the electric car’s transition to get rid of some of them.
This is demonstrated by the request that the company has given to its network. “Some dealerships, on the other hand, are not ready to make this change or to spend at least $200,000 on chargers, tools, and the training that General Motors requires. They have until November 30 to decide if they prefer to go out.
The multinational has decided to deliver $500,000 in compensation to those dealers who choose to stop distributing the Cadillac brand before the end of the month. With this move, General Motors will be able to dispense with both its less powerful concessions and those with no interest in selling electric cars, thereby reducing its extensive network.
Mahmoud Samara, Vice President, Cadillac North America, said: “We want to move fast and make sure that dealers are ready for the transition. This is simply an option for those dealers who feel that electric cars are not suitable for them.”