Page 33 - 2021 Atlanta Auto Show Guide
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relationship, which gives dealers little capacity charging infrastructure, tooling and training
to avoid any such OEM force feeding, you can that Cadillac was mandating. Conversely, if they
hardly blame dealers for this early trepidation. either didn’t want to be part of that all-electric
future, or they simply didn’t want to make the
But that was a long, long time ago. The world required investment, they could accept a buy-
has changed considerably. These vehicles out from the automaker, and wind down their
have changed considerably. These are hardly franchises.
compliance cars any longer. The level of
investment and commitment that traditional What happened next wasn’t
automakers have made in battery electric surprising to anyone who
technology is night-and-day different than it
was even five years ago, and it shows in the really understands dealers
product. and how their thinking has
evolved.
A number of other things
have also changed. Across More than 80% of Cadillac dealers said they were
the country, more charging all in – not just to sell EVs, but to sell exclusively
stations with faster charging EVs, and they backed up that commitment with
capability are popping up almost every day, and significant capital investments that will take
it’s entirely possible that the federal government time to mature.
will appropriate billions of dollars to grow the
nation’s recharging infrastructure significantly. Most of the 20% that opted out were small stores
On top of this, we are rapidly approaching price in markets where Cadillac hasn’t performed well,
parity. Owning an EV for the long haul is now a and most of these dealers accepted the buyout
vastly different proposition than it used to be. because of economic conditions on the ground,
These are hugely positive developments. not out of concern about the brand’s future
product plans. And certainly not because they
One other major thing that has changed were anti-electric. For example, one Cadillac
dramatically over the years? Dealer attitudes dealership in northern Minnesota took the
toward selling and servicing EVs. Franchised buyout because it sells fewer than 50 new cars
dealers aren’t at all EV-reluctant, and haven’t per year, and the required $200,000 investment
been for years. And they certainly aren’t anti- was simply too steep given the small size of its
EV. Anyone that tells you differently just isn’t market.
telling the truth.
And so, in one fell swoop, America’s Cadillac
How do we know this? Cadillac. dealers completely debunked the myth that
franchised dealers don’t want to sell and service
Last fall, after Cadillac announced plans electric vehicles. Because if this myth were even
to abandon internal combustion engines remotely true, virtually every Cadillac dealer out
altogether and move entirely to battery electric there would have gladly taken the buyout and
drivetrains, the nation’s 880 Cadillac dealers done so in a heartbeat.
faced a choice.
What’s more, the enthusiasm toward EVs
If they bought into Cadillac’s vision for an all- among the franchised dealer body is hardly
electric future, they could pony up a minimum unique to Cadillac. In fact, franchised dealers
of $200,000 of their own capital for the in-store
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