Staff photo by Fritz Busch Jensen Motors owner Rick Jensen kneels next to a Buick sport utility vehicle in the dealer showroom Friday. Jensen Motors is among a number of Buick dealerships who accepted General Motors buyouts instead of making required investments to sell the brand’s upcoming battery-electric vehicles. As of April 1, Jensen Motors will no longer have the Buick franchise.

NEW ULM — Jensen Motors owner Rick Jensen said he and his family like Buicks so much, they’ll probably buy new ones before the dealership ends being a Buick franchise April 1.

“It all started about two years ago when there were 1,958 Buick franchises. General Motors (GM) started contacting Buick dealers, asking if they were interested in investing in equipment and tools for sales and servicing electric vehicles (EV). We said ‘no’ the first two times they asked us,” said Jensen.

He said Buick plans to only build EVs by 2031 and that about half the Buick franchises accepted buyouts the first two times GM asked them about it.

“The third phase of franchise buyouts came late last year. I knew a GM man who was the head of dealer channeling because he was my Oldsmobile rep in the 1990s. He called me last November explained to me how GMC and Buick will look in the future,” said Jensen.

He learned that GMC (General Motors trucks and utility vehicles) and Chevrolet will be ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles and Cadillac and Buick will be electric vehicles divisions.

“If we stayed with Buick, it would require a considerable investment for more chargers, tools and hoists, above and beyond what we already have with GMC, which already has some electric vehicles,” said Jensen.

He said due to 2012 legal requirements, U.S. car manufacturers are mandated to have a certain percentage of electric vehicles, basically to boost EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) fuel mileage ratings up.

“Vehicle manufacturers need to find out how to get EV sales going. They’ve taken such a hard rap. More and more we’re finding in areas where it gets cold, EV range falls,” said Jensen.

The changes don’t mean Jensen Motors won’t sell any more Buicks.

“We can’t sell any new Buicks after March 31, but we can still sell late model and near new Buicks. We’ve sold a lot of company cars, especially Cadillacs, (vehicles that employers provide to their employees, used mostly to drive to and from work, or if they need to travel for work), with low miles,” he said.

“We’ve seen a lot of change in this business,” said Jensen who has been selling cars and trucks in New Ulm since 1988.

One of the most sought after Buicks of all time was the 1987 Buick GNX, introduced as an all-black, performance model nicknamed “Darth Vader’s car.” It’s performance is still considered very respectable, even by today’s standards.

He said it’s not the first time he had to stop selling GM vehicles. Oldsmobiles were discontinued by GM in 2004. The Pontiac brand was shuttered in 2010.