Buick will buy out dealers who don't want to invest in its all-electric future

Shawn Knight

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Recap: Buick has bold plans for its all-electric transition and is preparing to give existing dealers a way out if they aren't interested in supporting the initiative. GM offered a similar program for its Cadillac brand a couple of years ago, which reduced its network of dealers in the US by about one-third. The initiative cost GM around $275 million and reduced its franchise network to around 575 locations across the country. Like Buick, Cadillac expects to be all-electric by 2030.

A few months back, Buick global VP Duncan Aldred said the division would be all-electric by 2030. The rapid electrification effort will require a substantial investment from dealers who will need to update their facilities with charging stations and specialized equipment to service EVs in their shops. Some dealers have said refurbishment costs could total more than $300,000.

Not everyone will be interested in dumping that much money into the initiative. Dealers not interested in going on Buick's EV ride will have the opportunity to take a buyout from General Motors that'll free them of the commitment, meaning they'll no longer be able to sell Buick models. Other GM models, like GMC, would be unaffected by a buyout.

According to research firm Motor Intelligence, Buick's market share in the US has been steady at around 1.2 percent over the last few years. Surprisingly enough, the division is strongest in China where it sells about four times as many vehicles as it does in the US.

Embracing an all-electric future might not be everyone's cup of tea but it seems to be the direction the industry – and society – is heading. California recently approved a plan to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, joining Massachusetts and New York who have similar goals.

GM previously said it aims to be carbon neutral by 2040 and will eliminate tailpipe emissions from new light-duty vehicles by 2035. It also expects all of its US facilities to be running on 100 percent renewable energy by 2030.

Image credit: dcbel

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We'll see I doubt it seriously. Not until our energy infrastructure gets a total overhaul.
A total overhaul, a massive rollout of charging stations, new nuclear energy plants, a network of factories to produce and refurbish lithium batteries, and thats before we get into lithium shortages and insane prices and the very real possibility that there is not enough available lithium on earth to convert every vehicle to electric...

Oh yeah, and I'm sure that GM wont totally screw this up and accidentally lose most of their dealers and see massive sales drops in the coming years, no siree, scary mary would never screw that up.....

In other news kia is looking to buy some ex Buick dealers.
 
Good on them for looking out for their dealers.

But bad for consumers to reduce the available choices of transportation.

And likely bad for their future sales as gas customers buy elsewhere.
 
It is a fools errand with electric only vehicles. California can't even provide enough power to homes and business's. They are already asking people to avoid charging their EV's at certain times, because of blackouts happening or the threat of blackouts happening. These virtue signaling politicians have no clue what it takes to mine the earth for the raw minerals needed for battery production. How is that "helping the environment"? There is going to be so much unusable waste from these batteries.
 
Good on them for looking out for their dealers.

But bad for consumers to reduce the available choices of transportation.

And likely bad for their future sales as gas customers buy elsewhere.
Especially given chevy has lots of dealers in more rural areas where long range gas vehicles are a necessity and the dealers run on thinner volume, I can see chevy losing the rural markets almost entirely in favor of ford/ram for trucks and kia/hyundai for crossovers and cars.
It is a fools errand with electric only vehicles. California can't even provide enough power to homes and business's. They are already asking people to avoid charging their EV's at certain times, because of blackouts happening or the threat of blackouts happening. These virtue signaling politicians have no clue what it takes to mine the earth for the raw minerals needed for battery production. How is that "helping the environment"? There is going to be so much unusable waste from these batteries.
Yeah but unlike CO2 you cant clean the runoff with trees, and thats green somehow because........um, CO2 bad?

Places like cali are in for a rude awakening when 2030 rolls around and a good chunk of their population can now no longer afford transportation, and their grid blacks out like a somalian pirate all day. Those dates will inevitably get pushed back more and more until they admit you need something in addition to EVs. They've already pushed the completion date back to 2035....
 
A total overhaul, a massive rollout of charging stations, new nuclear energy plants, a network of factories to produce and refurbish lithium batteries, and thats before we get into lithium shortages and insane prices and the very real possibility that there is not enough available lithium on earth to convert every vehicle to electric...

Oh yeah, and I'm sure that GM wont totally screw this up and accidentally lose most of their dealers and see massive sales drops in the coming years, no siree, scary mary would never screw that up.....

In other news kia is looking to buy some ex Buick dealers.

The world's oceans contain an estimated 180 billion tons of lithium. But it's dilute, present at roughly 0.2 parts per million.

There are 1.4 Billion Cars in the world - let's be generous and say they weight 2000Kg ( ie 2 tonnes )

You do the math - considering new battery tech coming sans lithium , plus hydrogen , plus shared driverless vehicles for city centres .

Definitely won't be enough whale oil to run them
 
I love these nonsense phrases:

"GM previously said it aims to be carbon neutral by 2040"

It's literally impossible for EV manufacturing to be 'carbon neutral'. EVs are so dirty to make that you have to operate an IC for 7 years before it finally catches up to the carbon footprint of an EV.

There is a dark, undeclared force behind this move. Just like many of the 'woke' initiatives.
 
A total overhaul, a massive rollout of charging stations, new nuclear energy plants, a network of factories to produce and refurbish lithium batteries, and thats before we get into lithium shortages and insane prices and the very real possibility that there is not enough available lithium on earth to convert every vehicle to electric...

Oh yeah, and I'm sure that GM wont totally screw this up and accidentally lose most of their dealers and see massive sales drops in the coming years, no siree, scary mary would never screw that up.....

In other news kia is looking to buy some ex Buick dealers.
Yeah, cool story bro. Now back to reality: Norway didn't ask you if it's impossible, so they did it anyway already.
 
Yeah, cool story bro. Now back to reality: Norway didn't ask you if it's impossible, so they did it anyway already.
Except they didn't. Some 22% of vehicles in Norway are EVs which, even at that low penetration, is causing Norway to use twice as much electricity per capita as neighboring Sweden.

This in turn is causing Norway -- the major electricity exporter in Europe -- to begin measures to stop feeding the grids of its neighbors, which is raising tensions throughout the EU:

"As all Europe grapples with a extreme energy crisis, Norway’s plan to restrict electrical energy exports is a harmful and destabilizing move that will only strengthen Russian President Putin’s energy hand, say its Nordic neighbors.

Denmark, Finland and Sweden have taken the bizarre step of warning Norway against its proposal to freeze electrical energy exports...."


As for how Norway incentivized people to buy EVs -- they simply exempted them from the massive VAT and other taxes on new vehicles (30% of the vehicle price), along with exempting them from all parking fees, road tolls, and other restrictions. The success of their campaign has so lowered their tax revenues, however, that starting next year, they're phasing out the VAT exemption. We'll see how many people keep buying them then.
 
It is a fools errand with electric only vehicles. California can't even provide enough power to homes and business's. They are already asking people to avoid charging their EV's at certain times, because of blackouts happening or the threat of blackouts happening. These virtue signaling politicians have no clue what it takes to mine the earth for the raw minerals needed for battery production. How is that "helping the environment"? There is going to be so much unusable waste from these batteries.

Meanwhile, the third world state of Texas (which is drowning in oil) can't keep it's power grid running, in summer or winter!!

Mention EV (or any renewable power!) and the hysteric rightwing is triggered en masse!!
 
LOL, California is already telling their "subjects" to not charge their vehicles between 4-9pm because of the excess heat wave putting a strain on power use...but they want everyone to go EV?
Not to mention they've but a freeze on shutting down their only nuke plant that provides 8% of their electricity.
Hey, if you want an EV, is should be a CHOICE, not a mandate.
You can bet the "high profile" people won't be giving up their multi-mansions, private jets, limos etc.
 
Meanwhile, the third world state of Texas (which is drowning in oil) can't keep it's power grid running, in summer or winter!!
No, not the state. Just ERCOT -- the Left-wing grid operator which tried to replace electricity generation with wind and solar, and failed miserably in the attempt.
 
Get rid of all dealerships. They have shown how evil they truly are by these ridiculous mark ups.
You clearly have no idea how the ecosystem of the vehicle industry works, as demonstrated by your comment.


That said, I and a LOT of others will not be buying into the EV system until the range of EV competes with IC(which would require a big improvement in batteries), recharge times go from hours to minutes(also requiring better batteries) and cost of ownership is dramatically reduced.

GM can suck it until they make big improvements.
 
Meanwhile, the third world state of Texas (which is drowning in oil) can't keep it's power grid running, in summer or winter!!

Mention EV (or any renewable power!) and the hysteric rightwing is triggered en masse!!
Why yes, don't you know? Science is evil and scientists know nothing! There's no progress, no new products in the pipeline. Heavens to Murgatroid. There's no research, even. California is going to slip into the ocean the next time the San Andreas slips and all because of their progressive policies. The only progress is by freezing humanity in the stone age and changing all our vehicles to foot propulsion ala Flinstone's vehicles. 🤣
 
Why yes, don't you know? Science is evil and scientists know nothing! There's no progress, no new products in the pipeline. Heavens to Murgatroid. There's no research, even. California is going to slip into the ocean the next time the San Andreas slips and all because of their progressive policies...

"A strawman argument is one in which the person sets up and then attacks a position that is not actually being debated. The term "straw man" refers to a straw-filled scarecrow, a literal dummy that is easily attacked and destroyed, as opposed to a logical, critically-thinking human opponent. A straw man argument is a type of red herring, an argument meant to cause confusion...

 
No, not the state. Just ERCOT -- the Left-wing grid operator which tried to replace electricity generation with wind and solar, and failed miserably in the attempt.

"A strawman argument is one in which the person sets up and then attacks a position that is not actually being debated. The term "straw man" refers to a straw-filled scarecrow, a literal dummy that is easily attacked and destroyed, as opposed to a logical, critically-thinking human opponent. A straw man argument is a type of red herring, an argument meant to cause confusion...



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[HEADING=2] What Is a Straw Man Argument? Definition and Examples [/HEADING]

Imagine arguing with a scarecrow. You can make any argument you want and the scarecrow won’t argue back. In fact, you can do…

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