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We are shutting down (giving back) the Buick franchise.

Did your dealer keep it or shut down?

Nope, Is your dealer doing this because of The ev bs?

Lost ours back in the '09-'10 reorganization. This week I've listened to one who is letting theirs go due to "Buick going all electric.." he said, and one who is strongly considering letting his go for the same reason. The investment is incredible, on any EV franchise, for sure. With building electrical upgrades, equipment requirements (including special tools), and training.... I do not blame them one bit! It smacks of the renovation requirements of 11-12 years ago.

Interesting, this is not the first time I have heard of Buick dealers dropping their franchises in the next few months.

The EV market is still very specific. It works for us in Seattle, but the PNW is historically open to EV. I don't know how to sell that to certain areas of the country. Certainly not an easy sell as the infrastructure just doesn't exist in many places. Even here it can be sparse and we are "ahead of the curve", per se.

This is the type of critical thinking that allowed Toyota to pass GM as the world's largest vehicle manufacturer.

Jalopnik:

Toyota's CEO Still Not Sold on EVs
Lawrence Hodge
2–3 minutes


While the 20th century was the age of the gas engine, the 21st will be the age of the electric vehicle. Just about every automaker on the planet is pivoting to EVs. Billions are being thrown at vehicle and battery development. Billions more on the infrastructure needed to charge these vehicles. But not everyone in the industry is sold on EVs. Specifically, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda who the Wall Street Journal reports is still on the fence about going all-in on EVs.



While most automakers have been laying out their future EV plans, Toyota has seemed to remain committed to hybrids and hydrogen. Toyoda says that EVs shouldn’t be the only path forward. Hybrids and hydrogen, he believes, are great alternatives, especially as EV prices remain high — something Toyota pointed out. Toyoda says that he has tried to convince both industry and government officials of this and described the efforts as tiring.

Some in the industry agree with him as the Journal
pointed out. Executives at both Nissan and Mazda have voiced skepticism on whether or not jumping all-in on EVs was too rushed or the right answer. Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida admitted the company may have been too aggressive with the first gen of the Leaf; Mazda has taken a more blatant and skeptical stance regarding EVs:

Mazda Motor Corp. executives once cautioned that whether EVs were cleaner depends largely on where the electricity is produced. They also worried that EV batteries were too big and expensive to replace gas-powered models and better suited to the types of smaller vehicles that Americans didn’t want.

But while Toyota has taken a slower, cautious approach with EVs, that doesn’t mean the company is fully against them. The company still plans to spend $35 billion through the next decade on EVs. Toyoda just thinks that consumers should have more options, saying hybrids and hydrogen can deliver an impact sooner rather than later. “Because the right answer is still unclear, we shouldn’t limit ourselves to just one option. It’s about what can be done now,” Toyoda said.

smoyer wrote:Nope, Is your dealer doing this because of The ev bs?

Not so much "letting it go" because of the EV push. We are already fully compliant with the Chevy EV standards as well as GMC - except for the Hummer. We may need a larger fork lift for the Hummer and trucks.

I understand there were two (maybe more) reasons.

1 - Buick is going to require a remodel of the stores that are Chevrolet Controlled. Meaning Buick wants it branding on the outside of the building. This could cost anywhere from $250,000 - $1,000,000, no one knows because there aren't any standards printed - yet. For reference check out the dealership in the background of the Buick manager video from Mexico City a few weeks ago.

2 - Lack of Buick models and inventory. We have been starved of Buick models with the possible exception of Encore GX for months. Last year we had maybe 2 Enclaves ALL YEAR - pathetic.

And yes with the EV situation and the fact that we are not in a coastal state means we are likely to receive less and less - meaning ROI makes no sense.

And yes GM wants fewer dealers. They still think they can make a Lexus / Mercedes out of Buick. Perhaps they can - but they have work to do. And no dealer I know of can see it on the horizon.

partsguy99 wrote:This is the type of critical thinking that allowed Toyota to pass GM as the world's largest vehicle manufacturer.

Jalopnik:

Toyota's CEO Still Not Sold on EVs
Lawrence Hodge
2–3 minutes


While the 20th century was the age of the gas engine, the 21st will be the age of the electric vehicle. Just about every automaker on the planet is pivoting to EVs. Billions are being thrown at vehicle and battery development. Billions more on the infrastructure needed to charge these vehicles. But not everyone in the industry is sold on EVs. Specifically, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda who the Wall Street Journal reports is still on the fence about going all-in on EVs.



While most automakers have been laying out their future EV plans, Toyota has seemed to remain committed to hybrids and hydrogen. Toyoda says that EVs shouldn’t be the only path forward. Hybrids and hydrogen, he believes, are great alternatives, especially as EV prices remain high — something Toyota pointed out. Toyoda says that he has tried to convince both industry and government officials of this and described the efforts as tiring.

Some in the industry agree with him as the Journal
pointed out. Executives at both Nissan and Mazda have voiced skepticism on whether or not jumping all-in on EVs was too rushed or the right answer. Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida admitted the company may have been too aggressive with the first gen of the Leaf; Mazda has taken a more blatant and skeptical stance regarding EVs:

Mazda Motor Corp. executives once cautioned that whether EVs were cleaner depends largely on where the electricity is produced. They also worried that EV batteries were too big and expensive to replace gas-powered models and better suited to the types of smaller vehicles that Americans didn’t want.

But while Toyota has taken a slower, cautious approach with EVs, that doesn’t mean the company is fully against them. The company still plans to spend $35 billion through the next decade on EVs. Toyoda just thinks that consumers should have more options, saying hybrids and hydrogen can deliver an impact sooner rather than later. “Because the right answer is still unclear, we shouldn’t limit ourselves to just one option. It’s about what can be done now,” Toyoda said.

President Bush made the statement for automakers to start thinking about hydrogen years ago during a speech to Congress.

we let Cadillac go in Nov. of 2021 because of the EV b.s.

Ichabod Farquar wrote:

smoyer wrote:Nope, Is your dealer doing this because of The ev bs?

Not so much "letting it go" because of the EV push. We are already fully compliant with the Chevy EV standards as well as GMC - except for the Hummer. We may need a larger fork lift for the Hummer and trucks.

I understand there were two (maybe more) reasons.

1 - Buick is going to require a remodel of the stores that are Chevrolet Controlled. Meaning Buick wants it branding on the outside of the building. This could cost anywhere from $250,000 - $1,000,000, no one knows because there aren't any standards printed - yet. For reference check out the dealership in the background of the Buick manager video from Mexico City a few weeks ago.

2 - Lack of Buick models and inventory. We have been starved of Buick models with the possible exception of Encore GX for months. Last year we had maybe 2 Enclaves ALL YEAR - pathetic.

And yes with the EV situation and the fact that we are not in a coastal state means we are likely to receive less and less - meaning ROI makes no sense.

And yes GM wants fewer dealers. They still think they can make a Lexus / Mercedes out of Buick. Perhaps they can - but they have work to do. And no dealer I know of can see it on the horizon.

We had to purchase a larger fork lift for the upcoming Hummers and trucks. Use it some, most of the time it sits.