Through an ongoing voluntary buyout program, General Motors has nearly halved the size of its Buick dealership network in the United States.
According to Duncan Aldred, global president of GM’s Buick and GMC brands, the goal of the 1,000-store decrease is to boost sales volume per location, throughput, and earnings at the remaining dealers. In addition, the buyouts enable dealers who do not wish to invest in EVs to exit the business.
In an online interview, Aldred stated, “What this enables us to do is triple the throughput of the remaining dealers. I believe it’s appropriate to say I’m thrilled we achieved it.”
Moreover, Buick intends to continue offering buyouts into the upcoming year. GM has already paid around $1 billion for these buyouts. Aldred claims that the average sales of the remaining stores are still lower than those of GM’s GMC brand, which primarily shares showrooms with Buick. Most dealers who accepted buyouts were smaller stores, accounting for roughly 20% of Buick’s annual sales. The company pays the dealers to stop running their businesses as part of the buyouts.
Beginning last year, Buick’s roughly 2,000 U.S. franchise dealers were given the option to participate in a voluntary buyout program or convert to selling only all-electric vehicles domestically by 2030.
Aldred stated that regardless of the all-EV strategy, the corporation needs to reduce the dealer network. Meeting that target, he acknowledged, will primarily depend on consumer desire and EV adoption in the coming years. “We will very much play to the market demand,” he added.
In the U.S., Buick does not currently offer an EV. The brand’s lineup comprises four gasoline-powered crossovers and SUVs, with prices ranging from around $22,400 to $43,900. Additionally, the brand’s latest model, the entry-level crossover Envista, as well as resuming fleet sales, are expected to help Buick recover its sales to pre-pandemic levels.
