168 GM Dealers File for Arbitration

168 out of the 2,000 dealers rejected by American manufacturer GM had filed for arbitration by last Friday, according to GM spokeswoman Ryndee Carney talking to Autonews. They all have until next Monday to declare their intent to seek arbitration under the law adopted last week.

The other American manufacturer to have slashed dealers as a result of its restructuring efforts, Chrysler, has not provided any figure on how many of the 789 dealers which had been declared expandable.

“We don't want to be seen as trying to influence the process,” Chrysler spokeswoman Kathy Graham said.

The number of arbitration requests filed so far is deemed inaccurate by Leonard Bellavia, attorney for some 50 dealerships.

“I don't think the Jan. 15th figures are demonstrative at all of the number of total filings, particularly because we have been counseling attorneys and dealers not to file before receiving and discussing with counsel the letters setting forth the criteria used to reject and wind down dealers,” Bellavia told the source.

GM, unlike Chrysler, sent letters to 1,300 dealers notifying them of the criteria used to target elimination of all their GM franchises by October, as well as 700 letters to partial wind-down stores.

“GM's notifications, while sparse, are much more meaningful than those provided by Chrysler,” Mike Charapp, a consultant to state dealer groups added. “At least the GM notifications tell dealers specific reasons why they were not continued. Chrysler, on the other hand, gives no information to a dealer from which a dealer can tell specifically why he or she was not continued.”