Thanks for the data point. I guess the model that always comes to mind for me is Apple. At some point they realized that they needed to control as much of the r

Thanks for the data point. I guess the model that always comes to mind for me is Apple. At some point they realized that they needed to control as much of the retail portion of the customer relationship as possible in order to successfully sell highly differentiated, but expensive products (Macs). Even their high-profile retail partners (like Best Buy) have Apple designed areas in their showroom. If I were BMW, Mercedes, or Audi, who all sell highly differentiated and expensive products, I would want a similar relationship with my customers. Also, FWIW, Daewoo is basically a non-entity in the US auto market. I'm not sure how they fared in the UK and EU, but if it's similar, that may be a confounding factor with that particular answer. And, generally, I think the dealership model arose originally because the auto industry is immensely capital intensive before you start talking about having inventory sitting on a lot in every minor city in the world. And the auto industry was more speculative, so the manufacturers were happy to let someone else front the capital for carrying finished inventory. But the auto industry is established and capital is plentiful these days.