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Cadillac has largely completed a restructuring of its U.S.
dealer network and expects to have 560 dealers by the end of
this year, compared with about 920 three years ago, said Rory
Harvey, head of the global Cadillac brand.
GM has booked a total of $274 million in costs during 2020 and
2021 related to the effort to buy out Cadillac dealers who were
not prepared to invest $200,000 to $500,000 per store in the
equipment and training to support the brand's shift to an
all-electric vehicle lineup, planned by 2030.
Cadillac will still have more U.S. dealers than other
established luxury brands, and has opened new show-rooms in New
York City, Beverly Hills, San Francisco and Atlanta.
The marque's largest market is China, and there it has not had
to restructure retail operations, Harvey said. Cadillac's sales
in China were up 20% for the first nine months of the year to
nearly 181,000 vehicles. In the United States, Cadillac has sold
nearly 96,000 vehicles for the year through Sept. 30, up 11%.
Electric vehicle leader Tesla Inc has no franchised dealers and
sells cars directly to customers. Other EV startups such as
Lucid and Rivian are selling vehicles online.
Cadillac has a virtual showroom called Cadillac Live, and Harvey
said inquiries through the online showroom are rising. But
Cadillac will continue to sell and service vehicles through
dealers.
Next summer, Cadillac plans to launch the first of a wave of
electric vehicles, starting with a compact utility vehicle
called the Lyriq. Harvey said Cadillac has received expressions
of interest in the Lyriq from 216,000 people.
"It far exceeded our expectations," he said. How many of those "handraisers"
will turn into buyers will be key for Cadillac. Harvey said
about 10% to 15% of people who show interest in an internal
combustion vehicle ultimately buy one.
(Reporting by Joe White; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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