Smaller Cadillac network goes electric

Cadillac began 2022 with a slimmer dealer network, record profits and its first fully electric vehicle about to launch.

"Cadillac is committed, and I think the dealer body is much happier than three years ago from the profits, the changes," said Inder Dosanjh, chairman of the Cadillac National Dealer Council. "Most dealers are welcoming these changes."

The General Motors luxury brand is aiming for an all-electric lineup in North America by 2030, starting with the Lyriq midsize crossover due this month.

As Cadillac embarks on its EV transition, it has paid hundreds of dealers to walk away from the brand and has begun preparing the remaining dealers for EV sales and service. Most of the dealer network should be EV-ready by late spring, said Dosanjh, CEO of Dosanjh Family Auto Group, with four Cadillac stores in the San Francisco area.

About a third of Cadillac's U.S. dealers — roughly 300 — agreed to buyout agreements that the brand began offering in late 2020. The offers ranged from $200,000 to seven digits.

As a result, the more than 500 Cadillac dealers who stayed with the brand have more throughput and are coming off a year of record profits, even as U.S. sales declined 8.6 percent in 2021.

"If you really want a luxury experience, a luxury showroom, the dealer to spend more money, the throughput has to be higher," said Dosanjh.

The smaller network is "a positive thing with dealers," he said.

Cadillac dealers also have a new sales and service chief in North America, Eric Cunningham, after Mahmoud Samara was promoted to president of GM Europe in December.