General Motors (GM) is preparing to make its Buick brand entirely electric in the United States by 2030. That’s why, last Friday, the auto manufacturer announced that it would buy out all its estimated 2,000 U.S. Buick franchise dealers.

General Motors is an American brand that needs no introduction. GM, a heritage carmaker, joined the EV revolution a little later than some or, at the very least, took a little longer to “get everybody in.”

With GM confident about overtaking Tesla in the production of electric vehicles, it will be amazing to watch American EV production over the next five years.

The buyout offers are the most recent initiatives by GM to speed up the company’s electric vehicle aspirations and change its sales network. 

Duncan Aldred, president of global Buick, plans to meet virtually with the dealers on Friday to discuss the payout. He noted that Buick dealers would need to make significant investments to switch to EVs, and depending on where they live or how much money the transition will cost them, not everyone necessarily wants to make that trip. GM is willing to offer monetary assistance to those who will choose to exit the franchise.

How much will it cost GM to buy out Buick?

Michelle Malcho, a GM spokesperson, confirmed the buyout plans on Friday but would not say how much it would cost or how many dealers the company expected to accept the offer.

It is not the first time GM has made a buyout offer. The corporation spent $274 million on costs to buy out Cadillac dealers in 2020. 320 of the 880 Cadillac retailers were unwilling to invest the minimum $200,000 required for equipment and training to support the brand’s transformation to an all-electric car lineup for 2030. The buyout offers the dealers got ranged from about $300,000 to more than $1 million.

The Future of Buick electric vehicles

The luxury brand does not yet offer any battery-electric vehicles for sale in the United States. But it’s already in the process of developing some EVs.  It plans to release its first EV production in 2024, marking the beginning of a gradual shift toward an all-electric model lineup. That will be finished by 2030.

Buick stated in June that it would launch its first EV in 2024, but it did not offer further details. Buick’s ambitions for EVs are a part of GM’s overall $30 billion commitment to electric vehicles by 2025. The automaker, committed to selling only electric cars by 2035, anticipates that this investment will produce around 30 new EVs globally.

Buick’s origins trace back to five years before General Motors was founded in 1908. At the time, electric automobiles momentarily outperformed gasoline vehicles in the United States. The only Buicks with gasoline engines sold at the time.

Buick has used the Electra trademark for more than 60 years. It will combine with an alphanumeric designator on future electric Buick automobiles sold in China and the United States.