Detroit — The push for an all-electric future will come with a cost for General Motors Co. dealers.
For Cadillac dealers that cost is estimated to be at $200,000 to transition dealerships for Cadillac’s electric vehicles beginning with the Lyriq crossover, the brand’s first all-electric vehicle hitting U.S. dealerships in late 2022 after debuting first in the China market. GM’s luxury brand informed its more than 880 dealerships of the required investment on Wednesday, Cadillac spokesman Michael Albano said.
Cadillac is GM’s leading electric brand that’s shooting to sell more electric vehicles than gas-powered by the end of the decade. GM is investing $20 billion through 2025 on electric and autonomous technologies and pushing to release 20 electric nameplates across multiple brands by 2023.
Cadillac consulted with the brand’s dealer council before instituting the requirement. Dealers will have to start preparing for the electric future by the second quarter of 2021. The cost comes from the tooling and training necessary to sell electric vehicles, including the installation of charging stations.
Every dealer will be contacted by a field person at GM about the transition, Albano said: “We know there will be some where maybe this isn’t the right future for them.”
Cadillac virtually unveiled its Lyriq in early August with more than 10 million customers watching. GM’s next electric vehicle to be unveiled is the GMC Hummer EV on Oct. 20.
khall@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @bykaleahall