Originally, Buick stated it expected to move a meek amount of Cascada convertibles. However, that has not been the case. Not in the slightest.
Buick states the 2016 Cascada has sold 2,487 copies year-to-date, with 1,090 in the month of April alone. That has outpaced the convertible’s supply, says the brand, with 64-percent of Cascada customers trading in vehicles from brands outside of the General Motors portfolio. Previous Audi, Toyota and Honda owners are among the most common, according to Buick.
The entire brand has reportedly reached an all-time high in conquest buyers, too, with 35,000 new customers switching to the Buick brand. Â This bodes well ahead of major introduction by Buick.
Buick will introduce the 2017 LaCrosse this summer, as well as the 2016 Envision crossover. Finally, the 2017 Buick Encore will round out a revamped portfolio of crossovers and sedans, while the Regal and Enclave soldier on a tad longer.
“With the 2017 Encore, along with an all-new LaCrosse sedan, the Envision and the Cascada, Buick will have four new vehicles this year in U.S. showrooms alone,” said Duncan Aldred, vice president of Buick Global Sales, Service and Marketing. “It’s a year in which we’ll stop asking customers to question their preconceptions of the brand and instead make a strong statement about what the brand is today.”
Comments
Glad to hear it’s doing so well! I didn’t think it would either.
I’m starting to notice them in parking lots and driveways around Chicago. I’m sure Gliwice plant will be happy to crank up the production a bit. I sat in one at a car show. It felt like it could be a great cruiser.
Buy them up people! It will encourage GM to take a chance on new things. 🙂
Yep, this is not important from a sales perspective (the 15,000 or so Cascadas per year is basically a rounding error in terms of profit for a huge company like GM) but that it continues to change the perception of Buick.
Cascada is not quite nice enough to be a “halo” car, but it can still make younger, more affluent people think of Buick — if not for the Cascada, but for the Enclave, Regal or new LaCrosse. Hopefully, it will help prod Buick to produce a true halo like the Avenir, which might not sell a ton, but would really help Buick’s market perception and re-sale value.
I’m in Chicago and and I have yet to see one!
But I gotta admit, this bodes well for the Buick brand! Hopefully it’ll pave the way for something more exciting to come from the brand! I.e. the Buick Avista!!!
I generally agree that this low volume product selling well could bode well for Buick to take a few more risks on marginal products.
The diference in this case though is that the Cascada had already been selling for years in other markets and Buick basically had very little to do to bring it to market.
For Avista or Avenir the development costs would be much more and there would not be such a clear cut business case.
P.S.
The Cascada is not at all the type of ‘halo’ car Buick needs or should have.
Build the Arista on the Camaro production line and save some money. This car will sell to the young buyer looking to move up front Chevy without hurting sales, I do believe, as older buyers showed with sales of the Grand National’s.
I sat in a Cascada 2 months ago when I dropped by my favorite CBG dealer for the specific reason of checking it out close-up. Although I quite liked it overall, I don’t know if I’d trade my 5th Gen. RS Convertible for it because it is noticeably tighter inside (but not intolerable) and if it had an additional 50 HP, It’d probably be a safe bet for me. I really like the exterior and to have a front wheel all-season vehicle (despite the soft top) would be a delight.
Unfortunately, other than a dealer lot, I have not yet seen a single Cascada in the wild. In addition, I don’t think the majority of buyers here in the U.S. have any inkling that the Cascada is built by Opel or that it has had a presence on other continents for several years prior to coming to our shores earlier this year. Only those of us who really follow the automotive world know about this.
That not withstanding, however, I hope GM continues on the path of making vehicles like the Cascada and and Avista available. As others have mentioned, these will certainly bring people into the showroom AND if they can buy a decent quality and aesthetically pleasing and competitive automobile (regardless of model) for noticeably less than an Audi, BMW or Mercedes (and for lower maintenance costs as well!), then go to it, GM!
Oh, GM?! Please ADVERTISE THE HELL OUT OF THEM!
I haven’t seen on either. And I live near a BIG successful Buick dealer.
The one thing that disappointed me about this car was that it shipped without the newer ‘iPad’ intellilink system. Which seems silly for a pricier car like this. No, not silly… unacceptable.
Got one, love it. Could use a little more HP, but everything else is great. Gets a lot of looks and questions. Friends riding and drive it are impressed, but still hard to get by Buick nameplate. Maybe should have put it out without the GM division label, like Corvette? Put 250 to 300 HP in it, and it will really be a winner.
Build the Avista with performance options and it will fill the gap. Buyers LOVE OPTIONS and comments after tha autoshow show customers LOVED the Aviste…