GM plans to eliminate four of its five GM Live digital showrooms during 2024, including Buick Live, Cadillac Live, Chevy Live, and GMC Live, while its EV Live showroom will remain operational at least for the time being, according to the latest information.
The reason for the shutdown seems to be budgetary, The Autopian reports, with the automaker likely not seeing enough return on its investment in the program to justify its continuation after the recent UAW contract hiked the company’s expenses.
A Cadillac Live Virtual Walkaround.
The various GM Live studios enable potential buyers to make an online call with one-way video and receive a personalized tour of one of The General’s vehicles from an assistant. The Live employee moves around the vehicle, answering customer questions in detail and demonstrating various features as requested.
The program enables people to get detailed views and answers about a current model without the high-pressure sales environment and possible inconvenience of a “meatspace” dealership. Cadillac Live started in Canada in 2019, but was quickly rolled out in America in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic made visiting a physical dealership even more difficult, with service soon launched in Mexico, too. The Michigan site features five separate showrooms, one for each brand plus an additional one for EVs, and is run by an estimated 120 to 150 workers.
The move to end the service comes just as the virtual showrooms – which receive very little mention or advertising time from the General – appear to be getting more popular. Data from a survey on a statistics board photographed by a visitor showed significant increases in likelihood of buying after a possible buyer used Chevrolet Live or Cadillac Live, the only two studios shown.
According to “Jamie,” an employee who spoke with The Autopian on condition of anonymity, the decision to drop most of the GM Live program is budget reductions, with The General stating “the decision is not directly related to the performance of the program or individuals working on it.” “Jamie” also guessed “it became a large cost-center too soon before it became fully integrated into GM’s marketing ecosystem.”
While the four main car brands will lose their Live virtual showroom, the EV Live showroom will continue to operate. First launched in summer 2022, EV Live helps to answer the numerous and complex questions people have about the relatively new and unfamiliar electric vehicles across the automaker’s lineup.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more GM technology news, GM business news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
More wasted money.
Anyone know how much one of these “live assistants” got paid? What was their salary?
CarBravo should go next!
Never heard of it, sounds like a waste.
Interesting idea, but seems like canned virtual tours on the inside/outside would cost much less. You could augment the virtual tour with a chat feature to answer specific questions. Or do some utubes. I know I saw Alex Luft do some Lyriq test drive once on some tv channel. It really does not make cost sense to do one on one video when you can do one to many with video. I’d suggest they stop the EV one as well.
Makes sense.
Discontinuing a solution to a problem that’s no longer a problem.
Glad to hear they are keeping the EV side open. Dealer’s don’t know much about the electric vehicles they sell. Most EV buyers have to educate the dealers! The showroom operators are very knowledgeable and helpful and I have appreciated that info. It has helped me make an informed purchase decision. Definitely don’t get that from Ford or Stelantis.
EVs are absolute garbage and a fallacy! Yet you hear all these people talking about aducated and informed decisions! Its hillarious!
They’re closing the EV side too.
This is a dumb move due to the fact today is Social Media driven and a lot of people on these platforms which a good bit of car enthusiasts follow go to these showrooms to film new cars. Most of us would watch a video on the new Cadillac as opposed to going to a lot to be annoyed by a dealer.
Get rid of the four executives u just hired. No more budgetary problems.since gm doesn’t advertise much of their lineup seems virtual would be a wise thing to keep around. More smart ideas by Mary and the gang.
Corporate had recently stated that the GM LIVE studios were generating a higher percentage of actual car sales than auto shows. Go figure.
The LIVE studios did not sell cars. They are capable of funnelling leads to dealers, but it is a no-sale/no-commission service. Where did corporate say this? Or did you just make it up?
No one, including myself said that they sell cars at GM Live. As a matter of fact most agents I’ve connected with begin their greeting with explaining that it’s a non-sales environment. The agents do quite often assist the consumer in locating a dealer near them, and sometimes assist in setting up test drives at said dealership. Dealers I’ve spoken to say that they rely on the agents at GM Live to help the consumer learn about the cars and even help new owners set up and customize their vehicle’s settings. These dealers also said they refer the consumer to GM Live to learn about the EV’s and charging.
Auto Shows are also non-sales environments. However it was determined that both auto shows and the digital showrooms generate car sales. Not sure who at corporate made the announcement, but the digital showrooms apparently showed more direct link to sales than auto shows.
This way the stock buybacks will be easier.
I work at a dealership and had no idea this was a thing. I am certainly not all knowing, but my gosh. GM is constantly sending emails with communication for the most mundane things. I have not received or seen anything about this.