DETROIT — Cadillac dealers will begin preparing their facilities for electric vehicles as early as next month, about a year before the Lyriq hits the market, the brand said in a letter to dealers Wednesday.
Cadillac is working with ABM, a provider of electrification solutions, to assess the upgrades and costs necessary for each dealer to sell and service EVs.
"There's an entire infrastructure, an entire ecosystem, and it's different dealer to dealer. That's why we have required that every Cadillac dealer go through this assessment ... and more importantly, offer them the turnkey" solution, Mahmoud Samara, vice president of Cadillac North America, told Automotive News.
Cadillac will cover the cost of the assessments, and ABM will guide dealers through permitting, utility upgrades, charging equipment, installation and training, Samara said.
Once dealers complete the assessment, they can stick with ABM to update their stores or choose another provider.
Cadillac has said it plans to have an all-electric lineup by 2030, as long as the market is ready. About a fifth of Cadillac's 882 dealerships chose to leave the brand late last year, opting to take a buyout offer rather than invest in EV infrastructure, which Cadillac expects to cost about $200,000 on average.
All remaining dealerships must be ready for EVs before the Lyriq midsize crossover comes to the market in early 2022, and Cadillac hopes to complete all the assessments by the second quarter of this year, Samara said.
"We're moving super fast," he said. "Our goal is to have actions speak louder than words."
