In preparation for an onslaught of electric vehicles, including the new Lyriq, dealerships are being asked by Cadillac to invest $200,000 in upgrades in order to sell the products.
Based on a report in Automotive News, all 880 Cadillac dealerships in the United States were told on Wednesday that they’d need to invest at least $200,000 in their dealerships to bring them up to snuff. That includes EV chargers, tooling, and the required training to sell the brand’s cars in 2022.
Dealerships don’t need to have it done all at once, and can spread the upgrades out over time. However, when the Lyriq hits dealerships in 2022, they will have to be ready. This will be a larger pill to swallow for smaller dealerships in more rural areas where the payoff might be slow to come.
For comparison sake, of the 1,700 GMC dealerships in the United States, the company says just over half have opted to selling the Hummer EV. That goes into production late next year.
It’s easy to see why some of the rural dealerships might not want to spend the money, but with electric vehicles going mainstream in a big way in the coming year or two, it might be more difficult for dealerships to not make the investment if they want to stay relevant.
