The very first deliveries of the all-new 2016 Buick Envision compact premium crossover commenced in May, accounting for 89 deliveries in the United States and 1 delivery in Canada.
Sales Numbers - Buick Envision Deliveries - May 2016 - United States
| MODEL | MAY 16 / MAY 15 | MAY 16 | MAY 15 | YTD 16 / YTD 15 | YTD 16 | YTD 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENVISION | * | 89 | * | * | 89 | * |
| TOTAL | * | 89 | * | * | 89 | * |
Sales Numbers - Buick Envision Deliveries - May 2016 - Canada
| MODEL | MAY 16 / MAY 15 | MAY 16 | MAY 15 | YTD 16 / YTD 15 | YTD 16 | YTD 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENVISION | * | 1 | * | * | 2 | * |
| TOTAL | * | 1 | * | * | 2 | * |
We expect that deliveries of the 2016 Envision, which has a starting price of $42,995, to accelerate in the months ahead, as inventories of the Chinese-built vehicle improve. In addition, deliveries of the model should grow at an even faster pace with the arrival of the 2017 Buick Envision, which will bring a new trim level structure, a less potent base engine, and the inclusion of front-wheel-drive (instead of all-wheel-drive) in the standard model configurations, resulting in a starting price of $34,990.
The Envision is the first Buick to compete in the hotly-contested and rapidly-growing compact premium crossover space currently defined by the Acura RDX, Lincoln MKC, and Lexus NX, and Volvo XC60, among others.
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Comments
It will be interesting to see how this model is received publically. It seems to have all the ingredients for success even in a very competitive segment although it also has the stigma of being Chinese built.
So’s the Apple IPhone
It will be interesting, indeed. From a pure product/model/vehicle standpoint, the Envision is spot on and hits at the heart of a competitive but growing segment. It can be a very bad vehicle, and it will sell in decent volume. Luckily, the Envision is a very good vehicle that’s highly competitive — which is why I’m sure that it will sell even better.
It will be interesting to see how the “made in China” stigma will play into all that… but I suspect that it won’t play into it much, with two potential exceptions:
1. Anyone who actually “cares” about it being made in China, and
2. Anyone who cares about it being made in China and starts to make a stink about it
The thing that many who bring up the Envision’s origin don’t understand that this is a vehicle that was developed globally (in the Americas and in China) and is built to equally-high global standard.
The ‘Made in China’ part is the first shoe to drop, but is anybody else wondering what will happen when the Cadillac version is complete?
There won’t be a “Cadillac version” of the Envision (or the Equinox or Terrain). The compact (c-segment) Caddy crossover should be Alpha-based. At least that’s the going rumor.
Also, see my comment below regarding the reasons for importing the Envision from China; specifically, it’s the present lack of a viable production base for this architecture in the NAFTA region. I personally expect this to change once the third-gen Equinox and second-gen Terrain, which will share the Envision’s D2 platform, go online. And suffice to say that if Cadillac were to have a variant of this as well, then it would most certainly be made in the NAFTA region.
I understand that the compact Cadillac CUV will likely be built in NAFTA, but where did you get the information that it would be built on Alpha? I could’ve sworn it would be built on D2XX or C1XX at either the Spring Hill Plant, Delta Township, or Fairfax.
Please tell me I’m wrong.
So many people in so many markets really don’t care anymore. While it may be a slow mover in Detroit it may do very well on the west coast and many other non UAW areas.
Not buying Chinese anymore is like trying to walk though a cattle pen and not stepping in SH$t.
If this is priced right they could build this in Hell and people would still buy it. Just ask Walmart.
Right on, Scott. I’ve sat in it at a auto show and it’s a very nice, well put together vehicle. Most people won’t even know where it’s built, some will be aware but won’t care (like me) and the rest, very, very small group will walk away. This vehicle is build in China, but it’s build to US standards.
Yup. Globally developed and built to high global standards.
I’m confused. The Envision’s supposed to be compact or midsize? Or is it an Equinox-style situation, where it straddles between the two segments? Because I remember that I read that the Envision is larger than the Holden Captiva.
It’s being marketed as a “small luxury SUV”.
Joan — the Envision is a compact. It is larger than the Captiva — which itself was on the smaller end of compacts — and slightly smaller (exterior footprint) than the Equinox/Terrain.
Oh. Thanks. I didn’t know the Captiva was a compact. I thought it was a midsizer with the Antara/Vue/Captiva Sport as a compact.
I guess it depends on which Captiva we’re talking about.
The 2-row Captiva sold globally is a compact. This model is called the Captiva Sport, Captiva 5, Antara or Vue.
The 3-row Captiva sold in certain Asian markets and Australia/New Zealand (as the Captiva 7) is compact going on midsize.
Overall, it’s difficult to classify these by size since they were developed to straddle segments… something that the Envision, next-gen Equinox and Terrain will change.
Ah, ok. I was referring to the Captiva 7, because I remember I read in the website of one of the Aussie publications (I forgot which one) that they said that the Envision was larger than the Captiva, and the Captiva has seven seats, and so the Envision could have seven seats as well, or something like that.
I am a “boots on the ground” sales person that has sold Buick vehicles for the past 13 years. First two people to look at and sit in the Envision said it was nice and built well. They even snickered a little bit at the 5% domestic content. The point where they stepped back was when they saw the price tag. $45k for an AWD Premium 1 package w/sunroof. That is when the “Made in China” backfired on the whole thing. The complaint was they priced the vehicle like they build it here. They went to China for less cost to build and expect the consumer to not notice the price is still at the level of a Lexus RX or even a Mercedes comparable. Granted both of those customers are now driving Terrain Denalis for MUCH less and comparably equipped. I think GM needs to price adjust this vehicle or hit it with huge discounts. It needs to be $4k less in every trim level.
Daniel — thank you for sharing that. It’s quite useful to get this kind of feedback from someone on the front lines in sales.
The only thing I would note is that the decision to make the Envision in China wasn’t so much cost-related as it was a result of not having a factory in North America ready to build the Envision until calendar year 2017. This will remain the case until the new Equinox and Terrain launch, and even then it will be challenging to find adequate assembly volume between the three crossover variants of the D2 platform.
That said, considering the content in the Envision P1, it’s quite a bargain. Spec out a comparable Lexus NX (for example), and the price rockets to $49k; same thing with the Volvo XC60 — $50k for comparable equipment. As I’m sure you’ve already heard, the 2017 Envision will have a lower starting price due to lower trim levels.
Spec any of the vehicles you quoted out with the same equipment they cost the same as the Envision. Trust me, I have sat at a computer on Edmunds with a customer learning about the vehicles in the segment.
I understand the lower trim levels for 2017MY and I know why the Envision is built where it is, but coming from two customers first hand, they see “Made in China” and expected a lower price point.
I really like the Envision. I drove it and the American in me wanted to hate it so much, but I couldn’t find a flaw in it. We shall see how it sells. I still am sitting on the first two we had delivered to us. They are going on 7 days old.
When I say that the aforementioned rivals come in higher than the Envision in terms of price, it’s not because I “think” that they do… it’s because I know so, as I have already “specced out” the vehicles in question over and over and over again.
And though it’s can be challenging to match up the CUVs feature by feature, here’s just one example:
Lexus NX (non F-Sport): starting price is $34,965. Add the features (specifically, the Navigation and Luxury packages) that make it comparable to that of the Envision Premium I, and the Lexus comes in at $43,915. The Envision Premium I comes in at $42,995. That’s roughly $1,000 difference.
The same holds true for the Volvo XC60, as I have outlined in my previous comment. So in reality, the 2016 Envision ends up being slightly less expensive than the rivals.
Remember that this is just the Premium model as a 2016 which will be abreviated and give way to the 2017 MY Envision with a less powerful motor and less content starting at $34K.
I saw on at a mall over a month ago near the GM Canada head office and it is a really nice vehicle in person. It should do well regardless of country of production.
Buick’s Encore and its sibling, the Opel Mokka, are collectively assembled and built in plants in Mexico, South Korea and Spain as this hasn’t stopped the Encore from being one of the best selling CUV at 6,522 units for May 2016; thus, if people can accept the Buick Encore being built in Mexico then shouldn’t reject the Envision especially as it does have value because the $35K price is almost full loaded with all-wheel drive while competitors in this price point are usually entry level models with front-wheel drive.
Buick’s Encore sells really well because it has a super low cost of entry point and extremely high value for content. Great incentives and a strong lease program from GM have kept the lil’ CUV rolling.
One thing bothered me about your post. A $35k Envision is NOT fully loaded. The 2017MY FWD 1SV entry Envision starts at $34,065 per GM. A Premium II AWD with no option boxes checked starts at $44,960(Before adding a paint color).