GM Offers Buyouts to 400 Cadillac Dealers
September 23 2016 - 3:50PM
Dow Jones News
General Motors Co. is offering 400 of its smallest Cadillac
dealers a modest buyout as the luxury brand's management team looks
to reshape the image to better compete with rivals.
The auto maker is offering as much as $180,000 in "transition
assistance" to U.S. dealers unwilling to invest in a set of new
standards recently introduced by Cadillac Chief Johan de Nysschen.
Cadillac has 925 dealers, and the 43% being offered a buyout
typically sell fewer than 50 models a year.
Dealers were informed of the buyout plan Friday morning. They
have been working with GM management on a brand overhaul for
several months.
A spokesman said the buyouts are optional. Cadillac sales have
fallen far behind German auto makers and Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus
in the U.S. in recent years despite substantial investment in the
product line. Mr. de Nysschen has said changes need to be made to
the retail network and rolled out a controversial plan called
Project Pinnacle to address how dealers do business.
BMW AG, Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz, Audi AG and Lexus have about
a third as many dealers in the U.S. The specifics of the buyout
program were first reported by Automotive News.
Write to Mike Colias at Mike.Colias@wsj.com and John D. Stoll at
john.stoll@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 23, 2016 15:35 ET (19:35 GMT)
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