Buick LaCrosse sales increased in the United States and in Canada in August 2017.
Buick LaCrosse Sales - August 2017 - United States
In the United States, Buick LaCrosse deliveries totaled 1,198 units in August 2017, a decrease of about 25 percent compared to 1,598 units sold in August 2016.In the first eight months of the year, LaCrosse sales decreased about 19 percent to 14,534 units.
| MODEL | AUG 2017 / AUG 2016 | AUGUST 2017 | AUGUST 2016 | YTD 2017 / YTD 2016 | YTD 2017 | YTD 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LACROSSE | -25.03% | 1,198 | 1,598 | -18.90% | 14,534 | 17,920 |
Buick LaCrosse Sales - August 2017 - Canada
In Canada, Buick LaCrosse deliveries totaled 67 units in August 2017, an increase of about 179 percent compared to 24 units sold in August 2016.In the first eight months of the year, LaCrosse sales increased about 6 percent to 576 units.
| MODEL | AUG 2017 / AUG 2016 | AUGUST 2017 | AUGUST 2016 | YTD 2017 / YTD 2016 | YTD 2017 | YTD 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LACROSSE | +179.17% | 67 | 24 | +6.27% | 576 | 542 |
The GM Authority Take
LaCrosse sales are continuing to trend downward, something we attribute to a change in consumer buying dynamics from sedans to crossover utility vehicles (CUVs). However, it should be noted that the LaCrosse’s direct competitor — the Lexus ES — bucked that trend in August. U.S. sales of the ES, the perennial segment leader by sales volume, increased nearly 10 percent to 6,404 units, placing it well ahead of the LaCrosse. Meanwhile, Lincoln MKZ sales fell 21.5 percent to 2,160 units — an even greater decrease than the LaCrosse.
Overall sales of the overall segment, which we refer to “premium comfort sedans”, decreased 4.22 percent to 9,762 units in August, with the Lexus accounting for over half of its volume. During the first eight months of 2017, segment sales decreased 12 percent to 68,280 units, with Lexus leading Lincoln in second, and Buick in third. The performance crowns the LaCrosse with the highest decrease in sales volume in its segment, both in August as well as during the first eight months of the year, therein placing it in last place despite being the newest vehicle in its competitive set.
Going forward, we expect LaCrosse sales to continue at their current pace unless something is done at the marketing or sales execution levels to boost sales. Otherwise, Buick will be offloading LaCrosse inventory to fleets or in retail with high levels of incentives.
Sales Numbers - Large Premium Comfort Sedans - August 2017 - United States
| MODEL | AUG 17 / AUG 16 | AUGUST 17 | AUGUST 16 | YTD 17 / YTD 16 | YTD 17 | YTD 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES | +9.66% | 6,404 | 5,840 | -11.18% | 34,845 | 39,230 |
| MKZ | -21.57% | 2,160 | 2,754 | -7.42% | 18,901 | 20,415 |
| LACROSSE | -25.03% | 1,198 | 1,598 | -18.90% | 14,534 | 17,920 |
| TOTAL | -4.22% | 9,762 | 10,192 | -11.97% | 68,280 | 77,565 |
About Buick LaCrosse
The Buick LaCrosse is a full-size premium sedan that slots above the compact Buick Verano and midsize Buick Regal. The current, third-generation LaCrosse was introduced for the 2017 model year. The vehicle is based on a variant of the GM E2 platform. A short-wheelbase variant of the same platform is shared with the sixth-generation Buick Regal and ninth-generation Chevrolet Malibu.
The 2018 model introduced several new colors, the GM 9-speed automatic transmission in place of the 8-speed available previously, and also the new standard powertrain in the form of the mild-hybrid 2.5L engine with eAssist and a six-speed automatic transmission.
For North America, the Buick LaCrosse is built exclusively at the GM Detroit Hamtramck factory operated by GM USA. A GM China factory produces the vehicle for China.
About The Numbers
- All percent change figures compared to Buick LaCrosse August 2016 sales
- In the United States, there were 27 selling days in August 2017 and 26 selling days in August 2016
- In Canada, there were 26 selling days in August 2017 and 25 selling days in August 2016 (Canada)
Related News & Info
- GM news
- Buick LaCrosse information
Related Sales Reporting
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- Running Buick LaCrosse sales results
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- August 2017 GM sales results
- U.S. GM August 2017 sales results
- U.S. August 2017 Chevrolet sales results
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- GM Canada August 2017 sales results
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Comments
GM should build next Lacrosse on the Omega, or on the longer Alpha 2 besides the Impala (suggestion) and CT5.
Lacrosse belongs on Omega and be a slightly shrunken CT 6. RWD at a FWD price with Avista styling.
Can GM handle two premium brands without feeling the need to dumb down Chevrolet? I wonder given that recent poor showing of Equinox.
In China Ford and Buick compete. Unfortunately, this can’t be the N American situation, and GM must push Buick further up market.
The details matter here.
1. There is no reason that both Cadillac and Buick can’t be full-on luxury brands, with the former being “red blooded” and leaning towards sport (sport luxury), while the latter leaning toward comfort and “softness” (pure luxury). But that’s not really necessary.
What is necessary is for one brand (Cadillac) to compete with full-on luxury brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and (perhaps we can include) Lexus and Jaguar… while another brand (Buick) competes with the second-tier brands like Acura, Volvo, Infiniti.
A LaCrosse on Omega would boost the price to $50,000, which is not where the segment sits. So, I would recommend pricing the LaCrosse at $40,000, increasing the content to be respectable at that level. Essentially, they need to eliminate the two base trim levels.
2. When you say that in China, Ford and Buick compete, I think you’re saying that Buick is seen as a mainstream brand in China. If that’s what you are indeed saying, it’s not entirely the case.
That’s because half of Buick’s sales volume in China is made up by the Excelle and Verano… the other sedan models (Regal, LaCrosse) sell in fewer numbers. So really, the Buick Excelle and Verano are mainstream vehicles in China, while the rest of the lineup isn’t. To that end, Chevrolet competes just as well with Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and other global (non-Chinese) mainstream brands in the country.
Hope that lends some perspective on things.
Overall, the LaCrosse is a perfect car at the most imperfect time. Plus, the marketing for the new vehicle is non-existent. They’re so focused on pushing crossovers that they’ve pushed sedans like the LaX, Impala, and to a certain extent the Malibu by the wayside. That’s the biggest factor in slipping LaCrosse sales volume. Outside of that, they’re also selling the car less to fleets… while Lexus is pumping the ES into fleets.
In China two things are happening: Ford is trying to push upmarket making the US Titanium more or less standard, and this makes the brand more competitive with Buick. (It’s almost as if that old US Oldsmobile segment it’s highly popular in China.
I agree with you and have myself advocated for GM to take Buick further upmarket in the plush luxury segment while positioning Cadillac as a Jaguar/BMW/Benz rival.
I do disagree about Omega at $50,000. RWD can be done cheaper as seen via Pontiac G8 base price.
Car buffs may be annoyed by the price difference but GM has historically done this: Impala, Lacrosse, XTS. Omega dies not inherently cost $50,000 to produce, build and engineer. In addition, the increased scale for Omega would lower cost.
To the contrary: Omega the way it’s done now is quite expensive. I can’t put a specific price tag on it since that depends on a specific vehicle program, but the platform’s advances in material handling and joining make it GM’s most expensive and most advanced architecture. By comparison, the Commodore or any Zara vehicle is a dinasaur from a technological and manufacturing standpoint.
Specific examples to examine on the CT6 to give you an idea of what I’m taking about: look at how the roof panel is joined to the horizontal DLO surround above the window trim or the way the body in white has the front and rear sub frames joined. It’s a thing of engineering beauty… but it also costs significantly more to produce than say Alpha gen 1.
I don’t expect to see an Omega vehicle being priced at less than $45,000… and that’s really cutting into margins. This is an extremely high tech platform. Expanding the economies of scale would help, but they’re still looking at a high amount of Cost of Goods sold during manufacture.
The Ford thing is taking place, but it’s also because they have one mainstream brand, so they have no choice than to push upmarket. That said, they aren’t seeing a whole lot of success. People opt for Lincoln at that price point. Chevy is kind of pushing upmarket with Premier trims as well… but not as much as Ford with Titanium or Platinum or Vignale.
Ford can push upmarket in China, a region in which the brand isn’t yet well-defined; such pricing, however, will never work well in the US or EU where the Blue Oval is a known quantity.
One Ford looks smart on business school paper but the multi brand approach employed by GM, VW and even Hyundai allow for the same platform and technology to hit numerous sweet spots. I particularly admire how Hyundai and Kia serve different demos more with design than content. This multi brand approach would give Ford more bang for the company’s r&d buck.
Omega may be an expensive platform but can’t engineers eliminate some of the performance, need for speed, elements in an effort to reduce cost and better fit the Buick brand profile.
This Buick reminds me of thes 90 with BN design and the half dollar grin grill. Let’s hope Regal sells better.
If GM wanted to, they could produce a Lacross variant on an Omega platform or similar at a price of 40K to 45K and still maintain the quality but they seem to be convinced that size doesnt matter. Trying to produce the smallest possible car to sell us which is absolutely wrong here. Size does matter at least for many people like me who are looking for a full size car and not a mid size.
Chevrolet must compete with ford and vw.
I still see the value of keeping Lacrosse fwd but if the economies-to-scale dictates a rwd replacement by XTS dying and Impala probably end-up rwd so be it and have Regal carry the fwd torch.
I’m afraid the LaCrosse is far from perfect in my eyes. The old car took risks with its styling. This one has mixes awkward and safe (two things the Chinese market must really love), and manages to reestablish Buick as an old man’s car.
It’s time to get out clean sheets of paper at GM’s design centers. Lots of them.
Have you seen the current LaX in person?! It has beautiful written all over it. I’m 30… and I would take the current model over the second generation on style/design alone. Add in significantly more refinement and technologies of the current model, and the third gen is a hands down winner all around.
The second gen, meanwhile, was cobbled together from different designers and without a concrete direction for Buick design whatsoever… outside of headlights. Even the platform had a literal shit ton of hard points that limited the designers during the transition from clay to actual model.
In all, I would wager that most potemtial shoppers have no issue with the current LaCrosseas as it relates to design. Heck, have you seen the car that’s leading this segment? It’s not selling on design, I’ll tell you that much.
So, the design is not the issue. Brand and pricing are. The former is being addressed, though is a long-term endeavor. The latter is also being addressed via the lower entry price for the 2018 model year. Let’s see how the 2018 model does.
With that said, let’s remember we are in a sedan down market.
I disagree. The second gen has weak points and the MCE did it no favors, but it was a huge step forward for the LaCrosse. And despite those hard points you mentioned, there was no confusing it with anything else on the road. (Tell me you can’t see Malibu all over this car when you take it in from a distance.)
The 2nd gen’s side sculpting was bold, if not stunning, and the front had an edge and aggressive personality to it. Both were lost in this incarnation.
And f the clothes make the man, then design makes the brand–at least in part. What Buick needs is a modern “Arts & Science” style shakeup. Something to get one’s blood pumping. They won’t get it as long their core supporters keep arguing for mediocrity.
Correct, I can not see anything related to a Malibu when I see it on the road.
Even if design were an issue with the third generation (I do not believe that it is), this segment does not sell on design or styling.
You really must understand Buick as a brand and its purpose in the marketplace.
Buick does not exist to get the “blood pumping”. That is Cadillac’s job — red-blooded, passionate luxury. One could even refer to it as aggressive, assertive, dynamic. Buick exists at the other end of that spectrum: it is approachable, tame, and polite. It serves that subset of the market well, and its designs reflect that.
This generation Lacrosse just doesn’t feel premium to me inside. I test drove a Premium trim Lacrosse a few weeks ago. I think 2 major things need to be done to improve it. 1. Expand the size of the soft touch and high end materials. These materials have traditionally been only in the upper regions of recent Buick’s …but the area seems to have gotten miniscule with this model. It seems the lower portion takes up 2/3 of the interior instead of 1/2 or less. 2. Get rid of all of the materials in the center of the car from the armrest up to the Infotainment screen. It’s all very shiny…but more like costume jewelry shiny instead of gemstone shiny. Go with something more classic.
While a matter of taste, most are going to find this car’s interior to be extremely attractive and elegant. I couldn’t find a car that sells in this price tier with a better looking or more premium interior. The materials are very good. It’s a real strong point. That said, I do agree could be made even a touch more roomy (overall width, rear headroom, rear middle seat, trunk). And they missed a few feature details like heated rear seats. But those are not deal breakers that would cause sales to dive.
You aright it is a beautiful car inside and out but for me the size is a deal breaker.
What is it that the ES an MKZ has that the LaCrosse doesn’t? What ever it is Buick need to figure it out quickly and fix it. When you come out with new and supoposedly improved and you wind up in last place in your category you are doing something wrong. Find out what it is fix it and move on.
Yeah, but I don’t think this is a product thing.
The Lincoln MKZ is easy: I suspect these fleet sales are maintaining that sinking ship afloat.
The Lexus ES is more difficult. It established this segment… and it has built up an extremely loyal customer base that isn’t switching to crossovers.
Buick’s customer base with the LaCrosse has never been very strong… like Cadillac, they have been trying to conquest buyers from rival brands and automakers… and sometimes succeeding. But the problem is that the customer base has not been glued to the LaX like that of the ES.
I also suspect that the drop in the overall sales volume of the LaX has more to do with GM shying away from fleets. The previous generation was all about fleet sales, which represented as much as 50% of the sales volume. This one is very fleet shy… whether strategically or not… I don’t yet know.
At the end, it’s a matter of continuing of building presence and loyalty in this segment day by day, customer by customer… that’s the right way to do it… though it won’t be easy. But hey, Lexus did it. So can Buick.
The problem is GM has a habit of quitting rather than try harder. So it’s most likely another good car is going to waste because it’s not winning the sales race. I believe there are people out there who are loyal to a certain brand will switch if given a compelling reason to choose the LaCrosse over their usually brand. To start with ask the why they prefere the brand they usually buy then show them why your vehicle is a better choice. In order to be successful this has to be factual and not just an empty promise.
build the Avernir concept.. now that would be a “real”buick.
I was waiting with a passion for the release of the current Lacrosse but when I finally saw it at the showroom I quickly made an about face.
Although the styling is what I was looking for except for the bling (the shiny stuff the size was all wrong. It is a small car as far as I am concerned. I cant fit my children and their stuff in the car so I decided to go out and buy 3 used 2005 ParkAvenues. One I am using and 2 I am saving up till number 1 expires.
I dont know what Buick is thinking of. I am designed out of their line up until they start producing a full size car again. I tried migrating to Chevrolet or Cadillac but the design is all wrong Chevy’s Impala is too young and hip while Cadillac’s design is a little off.
I wish Buick will redesign this car on a bigger format so that I may consider it. In summary I love the design but the size is all wrong. Buick cant have a midsize as a flagship and yes size does matter. flagships are driven from the backseat. The lacross has a dull small backseat.
I looked up the dimension between the LaCrosse and Impala and with the exception of wheelbase the Impala is larger in almost every area. This seems a little backward to me.
The LaCrosse also has a smaller trunk than Impala or Taurus. Weird
With the next generation coming out in 2019, there’s little that can be done especially if it involves any engineering work as you can’t do something like drop in a LT1 455 hp 6.2L V8 or a LF3 420 hp twin-turbo 3.6L V6; Buick needs to ride out the storm until the next generation is introduced and try different configuration of options to lure people into buying the current model.
What generation is coming in 2019? The LaX was just introduced? I sat in the LaX and also in the Genesis G80 (almost same price point; the regular one, not the Sport). The G80 interior is much nicer than the LaX. I wished the LaX would get better materials, because the design is better than the G80 but G80 beats it hands down on materials, everything from the seats on.
This car was a hit at the NAIAS , it was like three rows of people to even get close to the display to get a better look at it . Then once production started and one commercial followed that was it .
GM seems to have a marketing problem at every level , they are producing some of the best vehicles in years yet it’s as if know one knows they are for sale . I have never even seen one on the road and I’m not being facetious . I agree that fleet sales and our thirst for SUV’s is a big problem but there has to be something else going on . The materials in the car don’t seem to be of high quality when you compare it to the ES or G80 .
The only reason Buick is still around is because of China , that’s something most journalist agree on . Buick needs to give their flagship some flagship elements as far as the interior goes . They didn’t go far enough with it matbe because they were saving / holding back for a different car to be their flagship . But with GM looking to axe some sedans from there portfolio , the LaCrosse may be the nice car that was built at the wrong time .
If I remember correctly at the NAIAS GM showcased the Avenir concept car witch grabbed everyones attention and people couldn’t wait for GM to produce it but GM pulled a bait and switch by producing the Lacross.
The Lacross is a beautiful car but the size is all wrong and the driving position as well is a little off. I think GM were looking for a younger target market but then they didnt think that the younger target market doesnt have the affluence for the price tag. The audience of a price tag between 40-55K market have children and they require a bigger car.
When I saw it at the dealer showroom I didnt even want to sit in it. It was a disappointment because of its size and many of the Buick and Avenir essence wasn’t in the Lacross. I am one customer that walked away from the Lacross a beautiful small car that didnt give me what Buick showcased in the Avenir.
It will be interesting to see how the 2018 plays out saleswise with a drivetrain combo that few were interested in before (the eAssist setup) and higher price points to get into a V6. Note that for 2017 you could get a V6 for 32990. For 2018 a V6 starts at 37090. The eAssist base 1SV did go down in price but dealers almost never carry this cheap model so I would expect the Preferred eAssist that starts at 34590 to be what most customers will see on lots if they even bother stocking that engine setup.
ALso puzzling is why the 3.6 lost 14 LBS Ft of torque from 2017 to 2018 and how did the mileage drop from 21/31 25 combined to 21/30 24 combined utilizing the newer more efficient 9 speed transmission in place of the 8 speed?
All good questions but I bet yo no one at GM can explain them. Perhaps I should say no one at GM will bother to answer them. Losing sales and answer is give you less for more. Kind of puzzling.
GM might be down grading its engine in preparation for a new introduction or to appeal to a different target market. However, the fact remains it is a small car in every aspect. Buick needs to introduce a bigger car for me to consider buying one
If they made a car like the 97-05 Park Avenue but with current powertrains and features I would be first in line. I just do not understand the hate and negativity towards a nice large powerful car these days.
I love the 05 ParkAvenue. I wish they would reproduce the as you suggested
The answer to soft Lacrosse sales is very obvious. Cut off the advertising and rebates and sales will tank. No one will pay retail for the Lacrosse which is overpriced by about 4k.