17% of dealers choose to terminate the brand rather than sock electric models.

Dealers Say Goodbye to Cadillac

In a dispute over stocking electric models, About 150 Cadillac Dealers Will Exit the Brand Entirely.

About 150 General Motors Co. dealers have decided to part ways with Cadillac, rather than invest in costly upgrades required to sell electric cars, according to people familiar with the plans, indicating some retailers are skeptical about pivoting to battery-powered vehicles.  

GM recently gave Cadillac dealers a choice: Accept a buyout offer to exit from the brand or spend roughly $200,000 on dealership upgrades—including charging stations and repair tools—to get their stores ready to sell electric vehicles, these people said.

Most dealers who accepted the buyout also own one or more of GM’s other brands—Chevrolet, Buick and GMC—and sell only a handful of Cadillacs a month, the people familiar with the effort said.

The skepticism from some Cadillac dealers underscores that, even as investors bid up the value of electric vehicles, questions persist about interest among consumers and the retailers who serve them.

Electric vehicles account for a mere 2% of sales. 

Electric vehicles also require less service and maintenance. That's a hit to dealer profits and another reason dealers are skeptical. 

And even if electric vehicle sales jump, will Cadillac be part of it?

Finally, I wonder how long the dealership model itself will last.