GM Retailers Criticize Auto Maker’s Plan to Buy Dealerships
- Share via
DETROIT — General Motors Corp. announced Tuesday the formation of a subsidiary that will buy GM dealers in an effort to build brand strength and upgrade its distribution network, a move some dealers view with unease.
The world’s largest auto maker said the plans are still evolving, but General Motors Retail Holdings ultimately could own 5% to 10% of GM dealers in the top 130 U.S. markets over the next decade.
“This is a competitive necessity,” Roy Roberts, GM’s head of North American sales and marketing, said. He emphasized that only willing sellers will be approached.
The move comes more than two years after Ford Motor Co. launched its own dealer consolidation program, and eight months after GM’s Saturn unit started a company to buy that brand’s dealers.
Some of GM’s 7,753 U.S. dealers, who have had a rocky relationship with the auto maker over the last year, said GM should stick to building cars and trucks and leave selling to them.
Inside the business of entertainment
The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
