Half Buick Dealer Network Closes After Refusal to Sell EVs

Daihatsu Halts Deliveries to Fix Issues Found.

The nationwide presence of Buick has been significantly reduced, with approximately half of its dealerships being closed. Furthermore, Daihatsu has ceased automobile sales for the time being.

Welcome to AM Drive, Motor1’s daily rundown of the headlines you need to know before setting out on the road.

Nearly 50 percent of Buick dealerships in the nation have disappeared. The significant decrease has occurred within a short period of time and numerous locations have been lost. Even though quite a few Buick purchasers are dismayed, only a small number of individuals can do something about restoring the participating retailers.

For well over twelve months, U.S. Buick dealerships have been presented with a selection by General Motors. Vendors were requested to either put money into tooling and tuition concerning electric vehicles or accept a payment. GM declared this week that almost fifty percent have elected to discontinue offering Buicks.

Indeed, by the end of 2023, approximately 1,000 dealerships are expected across the United States; a decrease of 47 percent compared to the start of the year. At the beginning of 2023, Buick had an estimated 1,958 outlets nationwide as per the yearly dealer survey conducted by Automotive News.

“We are still very much in the process of working with our dealers,” said Buick-GMC Vice President Duncan Aldred. “There is still time for them to choose between selling electric vehicles and accepting a buyout. We want to make sure that this program is done in a voluntary and consultive way.”Statistics show that roughly one-fifth of Buick’s sales in the United States were made by the nearly 1,000 dealers that have already chosen to part ways with GM. Aldred noted that GM is committed to working with the remaining dealers to ensure they have the necessary support to make the best decision for their business.

As explicitly stated, Buick aims to transition to being an entirely electric-vehicle based label in the US by the end of the upcoming decade. In spite of their current lack of EV offerings, this shift is ongoing.

Daihatsu recently announced cessation of delivering cars worldwide. The termination has gone in effect immediately when the company made a statement the other day.Japanese carmaker Daihatsu has declared it is discontinuing the shipment of vehicles around the world. This announcement came on the heels of another statement, with the end of deliveries being effective from that point.

Wholly-owned by Toyota since 2016 August, Daihatsu is confronted with colossal problems. At the beginning of this year, the company confessed to fitting up vehicles so that they would fare superiorly in crash assessments. These incorrect procedures obliged the business to engage an independent contractor to carry out a study and unravel the reality. The outcomes are now out there, and they aren’t encouraging.

Test results have revealed complications in 174 products among 25 distinct categories. Above and beyond this, a door lining aberration was found during April, and the following month an edge collision test oddity was identified as well. Scrutiny exposed imperfections on over 64 models and three engines – not completely limited to Daihatsu markings, as 22 vehicles and one engine are distributed by parent company Toyota.

Close to the completion of the probe, it was realized that several of the cars subjected to the crash examination featured an airbag ECU which was distinct from the one equipped in automobiles dispensed to purchasers.

In the face of these disastrous consequences, deliveries of Daihatsu-made automobiles which are at present in production have been temporarily halted, spanning both domestic and international trading markets. Similarly, Toyota will be implementing a similar strategy concerning the affected automobiles.

A listing of all the vehicles that have been affected by Daihatsu can be obtained via this connection. Moreover, those distributed by Toyota may be inspected on this other link.

Sources: Automotive News, Daihatsu