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• GM working to shrink its dealer network, Pt. 2: introducing GM Collections

  Filed under: Car Buying , Buick , Chevrolet , GM , GMC , HUMMER , Pontiac , Saab , Earnings/Financials Yesterday we wrote about GM's intent to shrink its 14,118-strong dealer network , with one idea to combine Pontiac, Buick, and GMC dealers into larger, more modern flagship outlets. Turns out that was only part of the plan: according to Automotive News , "General Motors is preparing to make public a plan to encourage the creation of superstores in major metro areas that would carry every GM brand." These superstores, which would be called GM Collections, are being evaluated for major metropolitan markets where the real estate itself is more valuable than the dealer franchise. For dealers interested in such an outlet, GM's idea is to move service and parts centers off-site to make room for all of the brands. Some dealers think that's a turn-off for consumers, others report good results. In LA, this has been standard practice for a while, with some service departments... Posted Jan 21 2008, 06:34 AM by Autoblog Filed under: GM, Buick, Chevrolet, Car Buying, Earnings/Financials, Pontiac, Hummer, GMC, Saab, dealers, Dealership, GmDealerships, car dealers, CarDealers, gm dealerships, dealership consolidation, DealershipConsolidation, dealer network, DealerNetwork

• GM working to shrink its dealer network

  Filed under: Car Buying , Buick , Chevrolet , GM , GMC , Pontiac , Toyota , Earnings/Financials At the end of World War II, GM "put a dealership in every little hamlet" to keep up with the postwar boom. Sixty years later, in 2005, long after that boom had ended and every domestic maker was losing market share, GM had 15,094 dealerships. By 2007 GM had reduced that to 14,118 dealers. But if GM plans to compete financially with its overseas competition, it will need to shrink that number a great deal further. Chevrolet has 4,000 dealerships. Toyota, to sell the same amount of cars, has just 1,244 dealers. Put another way, the typical Toyota dealer moves 1,766 cars per year. The typical Chevrolet dealer moves 554. And the other domestics fare about the same: the usual Ford dealership rolls 556 vehicles off the lot every year, while a Dodge dealer does 374 per year. GM is looking at consolidating Pontiac, Buick, and GMC shops into one. However, state franchise laws don't make... Posted Jan 19 2008, 08:02 AM by Autoblog Filed under: Toyota, GM, Buick, Chevrolet, Car Buying, Earnings/Financials, dealerships, Pontiac, GMC, dealers, profit, gm dealers, GmDealers, GmDealerships, car dealers, CarDealers, gm dealerships