Cadillac has confirmed that half of its 940 dealers in the U.S. won't sell the 2014 Cadillac ELR, the company's first plug-in hybrid vehicle, according to Edmunds.
This means that around 410 dealers won't sell the vehicle in the U.S., which could significantly impact sales.
The dealers supposedly made their decision based on the fact that they don't think the vehicle will sell well.
The automaker has previously said that some of its dealers will likely chose not to sell the hybrid vehicle, but failed to mention an estimate number of dealers that won't participate before now.
"We have a pretty good representation in rural markets because we are dualed up with other (General Motors) brands," said Jim Vurpillat, Cadillac's global marketing director at the 2014 Chicago Auto Show, according to Edmunds. "It is a great service advantage."
The cost may be a factor as well, according to automaker. The price for training, tools, and other factors can cost around $15,000.
The ELR is available for a base price of $75,995, including a $995 shipping fee. A tax credit of up to $7,500 may be available to some buyers depending on individual tax liability.
Cadillac sold approximately 6 ELR vehicles in December 2013 and 40 in January. Dealer shipments are set to start "in earnest" later on this month, according to Vurpillat.
"If they don't think they will sell more than one or two units a year, they would do the numbers, and it is probably not worth it," said Vurpillat.
GM claims the new vehicle has a range of approximately 340 miles when using a combination of pure electric driving and recharging thanks to a generator connected to a 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine.
When just using the energy stored in the battery, the ELR has an estimated range of 37 miles of pure electric driving, according to GM's website.
Vurpillat said most vehicles will be available in major cities/locations like California, Dallas, Miami and New York.
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