Buick is still riding high and executives believe the brand is in a comfortable state as new initiatives continue rebranding work.
The Detroit News reported on Thursday that Buick brass is happy with the current volume and its fresh vehicle portfolio heavy on crossovers. Some of the risks involved with the brand’s products, like the Cascada convertible and sub-compact Encore, are due to Buick’s global footprint. The brand can afford to take risks on its “white space,” mostly thanks to China.
Buick sold around 1.18 million vehicles in China last year, compared to 219,000 vehicles in the United States.
“We don’t want to be a very small, or a very niche brand,” said Phil Brook, vice president of Buick marketing. “We like the volume, and on a global basis we have the Chinese market, where we’re No. 4 as a brand.”
Brook said Buick’s positioning is just small enough for it to react more quickly to the market. And the fact shows in the brand’s lineup. Buick sells a trio of crossovers to cover the main segments: Encore, Envision and Enclave. LaCrosse and the new 2018 Regal family all keep the showrooms stocked with fresh products.
The geriatric ward stigma is slowly eroding away, too. Buick buyers’ average age fell from 62 to 60-years-old as of September 2017. Buick expects that’s fallen further, but data is six months behind.
“We think our refreshed lineup will bring younger people in. There’s no doubt about that,” said Brook. “And we’re not just filling holes in the lineup. What we try to do is find things that other people aren’t doing and the market.”
Comments
Buick should be the masters of fwd/awd cars and cuvs! Cadillac rwd/awd
How about something with a plug Buick, the Regal Tour X would be a fine candidate for an EREV PHEV version.
I bet we see a Bolt-based CUV soon. They should’ve done a Volt EREV CUV for Buick with the second gen Volt
I agree on the Bolt based CUV, I still think they should do EREV CUV, folks would like something with a nominal amount of towing capacity and yet still be able to drive electric 80% of the time.
I think giving a majority of EVs to Buick may he brilliant: Cadillac is to expensive, inaccessible, while Chevy as a brand just isn’t special enough.
Tesla is NOT luxury. Instead, they offer a high quality, white space product that can best be summed up as premium.
I continue to see Buick as the most potential GM brand–especially with the Buick/GMC dealership chain.
Buick is currently defined by Enclave and Encore with TourX capturing the imaginations of critics. Now, especially with the addition of Avenir trim, is the time for Buick to grow into the American Audi while allowing Caddy to chase Benz and Chevy VW.
I need an 8 passenger crossover in the top trim level. I would like to buy an 8 passenger Buick Enclave Avenir. Only luxury 8 passenger I can find is the Toyota Highlander Limited.
I’d rather have a Chevrolet High Country or Buick Enclave.
Is the 8 passenger configuration white space that Buick could fill?
We also want the 3 seat bench in the center row of a 3 row crossover for the baby’s car seat. The mother is convinced that a Center position is safer. Buick — lets have an 8 passenger Enclave.
Cadillac has their new 550 horsepower LTA Twin-Turbo 4.2L DOHC-4v V8 engine; it’s a shame that Cadillac won’t give up their LF3 and LF4 (twin-turbo 3.6L DOHC-4v V6) to Buick and allow the rebirth of high performance Buick vehicles.
OK, with a bench how do you get into the back seats. You still have to split the seat so a portion of it slides to enable access to the back.
A split bench just like the 2009-2016 GMC Acadia Denali
Building cars with kids in mind is something I wish was kept to mini vans! If you have a family buy something boring like a minivan
The only reason Buick is in ” good shape ” is because of China . If that footprint was not available Buick would be in tough shape domestically selling at the same rate as Acura .
The Buick Enclave , Chevy Traverse and the old Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia are / were actually GM’s modern interpretation of a mini-van and was well known when they were first introduced . The new Enclave and Traverse are still basically a mini-van they are just now called crossovers and neither is a SUV . Both are people haulers and there is nothing sporty about either of them . But they do that job well , but tagging them as a mini-van would be a death nail just like the Buick Regal Tour-X will never be called a station wagon .
There is an article on http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com that tells a completely different story about the shape of Buick and why GM hasn’t killed off the division yet . Not saying it’s true , but makes a compelling case .
Forbes had a similar article recently saying Buick could be a China -only brand.
Had to laugh where gentlemen in article said showrooms were filled—based on last inventory figures I saw for Buick, so are the backlots!
No doubt, China is the only reason
I understand about Buick buyers’ average age falling. My parents have owned several Buicks over the years and they loved them – but I didn’t like them at all (understatement). I was at the Northeast Auto Show in Providence, RI a couple of months ago and when I entered the smaller upper level there was a Buick Regal on display. When I first glanced at the car I thought it was a BMW. After a double-take I realized it was a Buick, of course, but it sure was a nice Buick.
The Buick Regal Sportback is actually on my shopping list now and that’s the first time I’ve ever been considering a Buick purchase. Further research indicates that the prior generation Regal is also worth a look if a low mileage off-lease / pre-owned / CPO can be found or maybe a leftover 2017 with incentives.