The once global giant, General Motors, has several brands in the United States: Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac. Dealers of the largest and most popular brand, Chevrolet, will be able to continue to exclusively sell gasoline versions without any problem, Scott Bell, global vice president of GM, assured The Verge.
In its day, Cadillac dealers received an offer that they could not refuse: either they faced the necessary investments to sell electric cars, or they would receive a generous sum of money in exchange for not continuing to sell their cars. GM spent $275 million to get a third of dealers to withdraw from the electric offensive, leaving only the loyalists.
Now it is the same for the two thousand Buick dealers, they are offered a buyback if they do not want to face the necessary investments in chargers and everything necessary for the aftermarket. The repurchase implies that they will not be able to continue selling the Buicks, but they will be able to sell the Chevrolets or GMCs. Why is it not necessary to force the Chevrolet network to make these investments? The answer is simple: Volt and Bolt.
Scott Bell commented that 95% of Chevrolet dealers are already selling the little one in the house, the Bolt, and before that, they sold the Volt, so they have been preparing to sell electric cars. When the Blazer EV, Equinox EV, and Silverado EV arrive, you won’t catch them out of step. By contrast, Buick doesn’t have any electric models now, and neither did Cadillac when the buyback program was offered.
As the volume brand that it is, Chevrolet is the most suitable to massify General Motors electric cars. Moreover, if the American colossus can make many Equinox EVs, which will have access prices closer to $30,000 than $40,000, they can steal substantial sales from the Tesla Model Y. The Equinox will be the natural replacement for the Bolt, and it is that in the US -historically- it is easier to sell medium and large cars than “compact” sizes.
The 2024 Chevrolet Equinox could be a bestseller in your country, with a lineup structured like this: 1LT, 2LT/2RS, and 3LT/3RS. The basic ones will have recommended prices close to 30,000 dollars, the others will go up, but they will give more for the same price of the Tesla crossover. The Model Y is slightly larger and offers better features, but many people won’t be worth the difference, and GM can step up its boots there.
