Buick’s 13,384 sales for the month of October 2012 were not only a 14.5 percent year-over-year improvement, they were also the brand’s highest retail sales since 2006. What’s more, sales to individual customers were up 15 percent year-over-year — the sixth consecutive month of the increase. The positive results put Buick on track to achieve its best retail sales year since 2006.
One of the regions in which The Tri-Shield brand is growing at a rapid pace is (this author’s old stomping grounds) Miami — a city known for its trend-setting style, which — among other things — includes flashy cars, many of which are imports. Retail sales of Buick vehicles increased a whopping 117 percent in metro Miami, with more than twice as many car shoppers choosing Buick this October compared to the same time period in 2011.
“Miami is a unique and challenging market,” said Greg Ross, Buick regional zone manager for Florida. “Luxury brands often outsell more affordable brands and the mainstream segments are import-oriented, too. Buick’s growth in this image-conscious market is all about great products, advertising and dealers.”
Apparently, the Experience Buick lease program is to thank for the uptick, according to general manager of Williamson Buick-GMC in Miami Mark Naszradi. The program offers a 24-month lease that includes SiriusXM satellite radio, OnStar Directions and Connections and oil changes in the monthly payments. Since launching in mid-March, the amount of Buick buyers in Miami choosing to lease (as opposed to finance) has grown from 47 percent to 65 percent. In addition, Buick leasing has more than doubled since the introduction of Experience Buick.
The GM Authority Take
Quality luxury product? Check. Higher profit margin per vehicle? Check. As a GM fan, what more could you ask for? A convertible Verano, perhaps?
On a related note, it’s excellent news that Buick is doing well in a competitive market like Miami. The South Florida area is home to the world’s largest (by volume) Lexus and BMW dealerships, and sales of import vehicles/brands consistently outpace those of domestic products. Coincidentally, Buick originally introduced the North American-spec Regal GS in MIami… so it seems that someone at Buick is placing increased focus on the city.
Comments
Miami-Dade County also has the oldest population in the country.
They also have lots of cash in the bank to buy those expensive Lexus and BMW’s.
However did not know that they were “a city known for its trend-setting style”. Alex, is the assertion that the old people are buying the Buicks correct or that younger, trendy folks are buying them? Not from there so I do not know.
@62vetteefp It’s Miami man. Along with, L.A and NYC, this is where style begins, and ends! 🙂
I can see the South Beach crowd cruising around in the sassy new Buicks….style is style after all………..I wonder how many new ATS will be there…I bet it will soon be so:)
Yes, the Regal, Verano and LaCrosse have become very poular for the younger, trendy corwd. The Enclave is become the new choice for “Soccer Moms”, superior fuel economy as compared to the traditional full-size SUV, and far cooler than a minivan. These moms are all 40 or less years old. The new Encore next year will bring an even younger buyer to Buick.
My wife is 47 (and you know her) and we have two Enclaves in our garage.
@62 — How do we know her? 🙂
Talking to Mark.
Can commentators have the same name?
Oh I see.
Yes, commentors can have the same name (for now). But they’re distinguished by email address, which is not shown.
What difference does the the age group make? I see all age groups buying Buicks so it is hard to tell…..Miami is a city with a lot of young people for sure, so maybe it appears different? At any rate, good news!
Exactly! A customer is a customer… and as is usually the case, the older, the more wealthy. However, there is something to be said about attracting younger buyers to allow them to make repeat purchases into the future, perhaps from the brand’s other products/lines.
Yes, money is money in anyone’s book :):)
Alex, right on about the buyer loyalty angle…there are so many brands and new models it is hard for many people to stay loyal…sounds like many things in life?????
62vet….Beverly Hills, West LA are also this way I know….I will have to see how many ATS are about as compared to Lexus and Mercedes…interesting. And I do not think it is the “old person’s” car either.
It appears that asg44 needs to take a vacation and come see us in Miami, far more buyers were under 40 than over.
Mark, I bet the weather is nice there now it is November?
I know it’d never happen (I think the Kappa platform is toast), but a descendent of the sky/solstice bearing the name Riviera would be awesome
alpha!!!!
I’ve been saying the exact same thing for years!
Alex, great article…so glad Buick is doing so well….I know it would but, not this well….I think it is doing well everywhere. I still think Buick is becoming the Cadillac so many of us love…quality, luxury, quiet, and class. Good show 🙂
I wonder if Shaq commercials played a role in this.
I was born and raised in miami and its exactly how alex described it you would think that there are a lot of old people in miami but when you step foot on ground all you will see are the extremely beautiful Latin women everywhere its definitely trendy miami is the most sexy and most pretentious city in the US Ferrari’s ,Bentleys and the ultra luxury cars are daily and the German vehicles are treated like toyotas image is everything in miami and for buick to be doing so well there is a sign that there winning with the younger buyer good job buick I also remember that regal gs launch that I didn’t get to attend buick chose miami wisely
There is a huge issue if you only market to older generations.
8 years ago the average age of a Buick buyer went up 1 year every year. This is BAD. Especially when you start out with a very old buyer base.
So if your average buyer is 66, in 10 years you basically do not have a buyer segment anymore. They stopped buying cars and you go out of business.
In Buicks case the situation is much better. Since 2009? the average age of a car buyer in the US has gone up 3 years. This is most likely due to the recession and younger buyers dropping out of the new car market due to lack of money.
However during this same period the average Buick buyer age has dropped 3 years. Therefore Buicks current buyer has dropped 6 years younger relative to the rest of the market.
It is good every age group is buying…that is all that counts really; we will see how election goes also. Anyway, glad GMC is coming back and it is. I will buy anoither one…Cadillac ATS or Buick Verano for sure….can’t decide!
@62vetteefp There’s a tremendous difference in marketing “to older generations” vs. actually selling “to older generations”.
The former would imply actively courting that demo set, while selling is, well, real-world sales.
The “customer will die off” theory has never really worked in the real world in any industry, as there are always customers (demand) who have aspired to have the product but couldn’t due to issues of circumstance at a specific time. A prime example is Rolex — which doesn’t care how old its customers are as long as sales and/or profits are either holding steady or growing. A luxury item such as a Rolex timepiece is (financially) only accessible to the wealthy, which tend to aggregate in the older demos (traditionally).
However, that is not to say that there isn’t value in capturing a customer at a younger age; doing so most definitely pays off as there is now an opportunity to delight the customer several times throughout their lifecycle (with multiple sales).
Ultimately, though, I would caution against the “race for the young” — as the focus should be on *profitably delighting luxury car buyers* — no matter the age. And if the customer base happens to become younger over time, that’s an auxiliary benefit — but it shouldn’t be the main focus. 🙂
Alex, The first LaCrosse was an attempt to stop the Buick average age from going up one year every year. It failed. It was a rehashed Regal. It had excellent quality and the interior was one of the most expensive in a Buick ever (lots of expensive soft touch materials everywhere) but the exterior styling was derivative. Too conservative. It did have a much more aggressive handling suspension but the styling did too little.
With the new Buick vehicles there is no “race for the young”, just highly contented, fresh designs.
Buick was on the chopping block and if they had continued to put out products that appealed only to the older generation (LaSabre, Century, first LaCrosse) they would have been gone in 5 years.
I agree. I was attempting to emphasize that delighting customers profitably should be the main focus… no matter how old the customer is.
Alex…perfect article regarding sales of luxury cars….yes, please the customer no matter who they are or the age….this is without doubt the answer