Dealerships as we know them, will start thinning down by 2025. Manufacturers are not too happy with the speculative nature of dealer pricing, giving the brands overall an terrible reputation. Latest example is the new Corvettes. COVID simply exacerbated the situation, with dealers making obscene profits with fewer inventory.
However, there are many laws in place that protects the current business model with manufacturers forced to go through Dealers.
Enter electric cars and Tesla. They are allowed to sell direct to consumer and get to keep all the profits. They also control the user experience, and delivery. Most people are extremely happy with this sales process. Suddenly everyone wants the same thing. Where does Tesla fall flat? After sales.
So, how to move forward? For all electric models, manufacturers are creating new legal entities. Financially, they are setting up the Electric brands as different organizations. This will allow them to be just like Tesla, and circumvent current laws.
Manufacturers want it, consumers want it.
Yes, dealerships are not going to completely disappear, instead, they will be incentivized to be Service and Delivery centers. They just have to figure out this last piece of the puzzle.
This is also what BMW wants.
This is a great article:
https://edgy.app/car-dealerships-why...iminating-them