Dealers take EV buy-outs
Nearly half of Buick’s dealerships in the US have quit the brand after it offered buy-outs for those who didn’t want to invest in selling electric vehicles (EVs).
The marque, which is owned by General Motors, is starting 2024 with around 1,000 dealerships nationwide, 47 per cent fewer than at the beginning of 2023.
Buick offered to buy out those who didn’t want to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars on tooling, equipment and training to prepare to sell and service EVs as it goes all-electric by the end of the decade.
The buy-outs were offered on a voluntary basis and in consultation with dealers. The programme remains open, and will “continue to be done in a voluntary and consultive way” should extra dealers opt to give up their franchise, says the company.
EV investments for dealers remaining with Buick – pictured is its Wildcat concept – will average US$300,000 to US$400,000 with the amount varying based on individual dealerships’ needs.
Marques plug into Tesla
Audi, Volkswagen, Scout and Porsche are the latest marques to adopt Tesla’s North American charging standard.
Starting in 2025, VW, Audi and Porsche’s EVs will be equipped with the port, allowing access to the Elon Musk company’s supercharger network.
Scout Motors, an EV start-up backed by the Volkswagen Group, also plans to use the standard. Production of its SUV and pick-up is slated to start around late 2026 with sales to begin soon after.
The four brands join a growing list of carmakers, such as Ford, GM, Kia, Hyundai, Toyota and Nissan, that announced such plans in 2023. The VW Group brands are also exploring adapter solutions for EVs with the combined charging system charging port to access Tesla’s network.
Zero emissions in Canada
The government in Canada has released final regulations mandating that all passenger cars, SUVs, crossovers and light trucks sold by 2035 must be zero-emission vehicles.
They must make up at least 20 per cent of all cars sold by 2026 and at least 60 per cent by 2030. EVs represented 12.1 per cent of new-vehicle sales in Canada during the third quarter of 2023.
Transportation accounts for about 22 per cent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. The rules are similar to those adopted by California, which says 100 per cent of new cars sold in 2035 must be plug-in hybrids EVs or powered by hydrogen fuel cell.
Global EV sales now make up about 13 per cent of all vehicle sales. They are likely to rise to between 40 and 45 per cent of the market by the end of the decade, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency.
