According to a new report in the Wall Street Journal, nearly half of Buick dealers in the United States have chosen to accept buyouts from General Motors (GM) which will allow them to avoid having to sell Electric Vehicles (EVs) at a time when customer demand for the green alternatives is running at an all-time low.
According to data from GM, nearly 1,000 of its nearly 2,000 Buick dealerships across the United States have opted to accept the buyout from their parent company instead of being forced to invest potentially millions of dollars into prepping their dealerships to sell and service the electric vehicles which their customers may not want.
As a result, following the buyouts, General Motors will only have about 1,000 Buick dealerships in the United States, as the carmaker attempts to adhere to President Joe Biden’s green energy agenda.
While dealers who accept the buyout will no longer sell the Buick brand, they will be able to continue to sell other GM vehicles, like Chevrolet and GMC, which usually account for a higher share of sales.
In late 2022 the Journal had reported that the carmaker was planning to offer buyouts to its Buick dealer network in the US. The automaker made the offer after presenting dealers with a choice between investing a minimum of $300,000 to retool their dealerships to sell and service their new EVs, or exiting the Buick franchise. The investments were to be made in worker training, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, among other things.
The buyouts are happening as US car dealers have grown so worried over lagging EV sales that they have petitioned the White House to abandon the President’s EV mandates and carbon emission regulations, which are seeking to force electric cars on the nation.
In a letter, the dealers wrote, “The reality, however, is that electric vehicle demand today is not keeping up with the large influx of [EVs] arriving at our dealerships prompted by the current regulations. [EVs] are stacking up on our lots.”
They went on, “With each passing day, it becomes more apparent that this attempted electric vehicle mandate is unrealistic based on current and forecasted customer demand. Already, electric vehicles are stacking up on our lots which is our best indicator of customer demand in the marketplace.”
Meanwhile a new Consumer Reports survey recently found that EV owners reported their electric cars suffered almost 80 percent more problems than comparable gas-powered cars.
