Buick laid out an aggressive new-energy vehicle strategy in China with the “Buick Blue” strategy, and on Sunday, we received our first look at yet another Buick electric car. And the name certainly rings a bell.
The brand teased the Buick Enspire concept ahead of a global reveal in China on April 17. Without much detail, Buick said the electric SUV concept is the “latest example of innovation and application of future electric smart mobility.”
The Enspire name harkens back up to five years ago, though we began to speculate in 2015 that an Enspire crossover would arrive to fill the gap between the smaller Envision and full-size Enclave. Thus far, those plans haven’t come to fruition. The production Envision could be a China-only model, but General Motors previously filed to trademark the “Enspire” name in the United States three years ago.
We’ve also heard rumors suggesting Buick will receive an electric vehicle based on the 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV with more expressive styling and luxury. GM could twin the Enspire with the Bolt EV, which would toss out our earlier speculation on a mid-size Envision SUV.
The sole teaser image doesn’t give away the vehicle’s size, either. It very well could be a larger SUV, or it may be a smaller hatchback like the Bolt EV. The rather round shape at the rear does remind us of the unbranded electric vehicle GM showed in an investor slideshow last year, though.
Leaked future electric crossover
We’ll know more in the days to come on the Enspire, and look for any new information right here on GM Authority.
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The taillights are stunning. If the rest of the vehicle has proportions of the Jaguar F-Pace, it will sell like hotcakes. If it has proportions like the leaked future electric crossover, that would be a shame.
Yes, stunning indeed, wonder why the Caddy XT4 went with "complicatedly bold" instead of this?
Buick is the sleeper hit car brand. Wonderfully smooth, quiet high-quality cars with no hype. Just keep getting better.
Now as long as they make the American Buick brand in America, I am fine. Chinese production should be saved for China. Less pollution sending cars back and forth on the world's oceans also...Isnt that the point of electric after all?
If you're buying a Buick in the US that was made in China, you're doing it wrong.
Almost the entire future Buick line will be made overseas. The fact that Kia/Hyundai and so many others are thriving demonstrates that people don't care. Most people who own BMW and Mercedes SUVs think they are made in Germany and they don't care.
Nope.
Let's hope this concept rear-end makes it into a production vehicle here in the US. It looks stunning. A nice evolution of the new Enclaves rear lighting, now merging them together with a horizontal light bar. Add in an EV powertrain, the right proportions, and the vehicle would sell fast.
One thing I'd like to note is just how impressive Buick concepts have been. Easily some of the best out of all of GM's divisions (except Escala, which will always be my favorite). I think Buick needs to be given more room to bring these designs to production. I know GM is worried about Buick overtaking Cadillac, but there is room for two luxury brands at GM. Push Buick as soft luxury and let it bring these highly elegant design studies to production in some form. It would be a great competitor for Infiniti and Lincoln's flowing designs. Then push Cadillac a notch higher with more chiseled and aggressive design and dynamics for Audi and BMW. Stop holding Buick down market and limiting it's production design features.
It used to be that Japan copied the west’s cars.
Nowadays? This Buick copies the Lexus LF1, the new Camaro copies the new Camry, and everybody is driving RAV4 copies around...
Dead on arrival - the tariffs are going to kill this thing, and I'm glad. Same with the Envision. Anyone who buys a vehicle from China should be ashamed.
We do have an automotive manufacturing base here in the United States, and we do have a chance to correct this by putting tariffs of these vehicles. I am 100% in support of the tariffs, and Trump, on this particular issue.
And if they are producing this electric CUV in China instead of adding a shift at Lake Orion - to hell with Mary Barra, destroyer of market share and capital. Let Trump put 100% tariffs on these turds.
And yes I do have a Chinese manufactured iPhone in my pocket - we don't have an electronics industry in the United States because we whiffed on adding a tariff and preventing Japan/China use borderline slave labor when they first developed their electronic industries in the 80s with this human 'subsidy'. Hard to compete when you're developing an industry and your competitor violates human rights and pays wages of pennies on the dollar. Look it up.
I do agree that the one thing we should not support in any way are vehicles manufactured in China.
The only way to do this, however, is to negotiate profitable factory openings with Unions so that the worker starts out with a good salary and is then rewarded for performance and quality targets. I believe Nissan, Toyota, BMW, etc. have done this in southern states.
“We’ll know more in the days to come on the Envision, and look for any new information right here on GM Authority”. I’m pretty sure you mean Enspire right?
It wont sell. Cheap gas = EV death. Plain and simple. Auto makers can push these things all they want and they wont sell (at a profit either). Stop wasting money on EV programs and put it towards vehicles that actually sell. EV’s are the new Saturn, theyre robbing money from other programs that need it to prop up a money losing EV program.
Spoken like you're commenting on an electric vehicle in 2002.
Nowadays everyone knows electric drive-trains have massive performance benefits over ICE.
Everyone knows yet nobody is buying? Makes sense.....
Lets weigh these “massive” benefits. Higher initial purchase price (everyones #1 concern). No infrastructure in place for EV’s to be used on anything but daily trips to work and home, so more than likely youll need to own another car. Maintenance expenses (batteries are very expensive), theyll be throw away cars when the batteries die. Ever bought a power tool, most expensive part? The battery. So resale prices will be horrible once the battery life is near its end. Sure if you want to talk 0-60 times youre right, torque, you’re right. But theres way more to it than those things. Wait until your power goes out one night and you cant make it to work or god forbid its an emergency and your car is dead. ICE as you like to call them isn’t going anywhere anytime soon so lets hope automakers remember there are other cars that need investment and development too.
it isn't china. it is CHHHYYYYYYYNNNNNUUUUUUH.
From the teaser.. the designer of the Buick Enspire should be named as the Chief designer of the next generation Chevrolet Camaro because this individual knows the importance of aesthetics as a sport coupe needs to look sporty.