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Buick Regal Sales Increase 42 Percent To 4,507 Units In Q2 2018

Buick Regal sales increased in the United States and in Mexico while decreasing in Canada in the second quarter of 2018.

Buick Regal Sales - Q2 2018 - United States

In the United States, Buick Regal deliveries totaled 4,507 units in Q2 2018, an increase of about 42 percent compared to 3,174 units sold in Q2 2017.

In the first six months of the year, Regal sales increased about 27 percent to 8,215 units.
MODEL Q2 2018 / Q2 2017 Q2 2018 Q2 2017YTD 2018 / YTD 2017 YTD 2018 YTD 2017
REGAL +42.00% 4,507 3,174 +26.74% 8,215 6,482

Buick Regal Sales - Q2 2018 - Canada

In Canada, Buick Regal deliveries totaled 149 units in Q2 2018, a decrease of about 15 percent compared to 176 units sold in Q2 2017.

In the first six months of the year, Regal sales decreased about 32 percent to 250 units.
MODEL Q2 2018 / Q2 2017 Q2 2018 Q2 2017YTD 2018 / YTD 2017 YTD 2018 YTD 2017
REGAL -15.34% 149 176 -31.69% 250 366

Buick Regal Sales - Q2 2018 - Mexico

In Mexico, Buick Regal deliveries totaled 26 units in Q2 2018, an increase of about 8 percent compared to 24 units sold in Q2 2017.

In the first six months of the year, Regal sales decreased about 2 percent to 40 units.
MODEL Q2 2018 / Q2 2017 Q2 2018 Q2 2017YTD 2018 / YTD 2017 YTD 2018 YTD 2017
REGAL +8.33% 26 24 -2.44% 40 41

2018 Buick Regal GS exterior 002

Competitive Sales Comparison

The Regal family was outsold by its two other segment contenders during the quarter – the Acura TLX and the Kia Stinger.

The difference between the Regal and the TLX was quite vast, with the Acura selling nearly twice as many units as the Buick. Be that as it may, the Regal managed to close the gap at a very fast pace with the TLX, which saw sales slip an alarming 33 percent.

Meanwhile, the Kia sold 211 units more than the Buick, while doing so with only one body style variant while also commanding a higher base price.

Sales Numbers - Sporty Midsize Premium Cars - Q2 2018 - United States

MODEL Q2 18 / Q2 17 Q2 18 Q2 17 YTD 18 / YTD 17 YTD 18 YTD 17
TLX -33.62% 7,927 11,941 -11.41% 16,890 19,065
STINGER * 4,718 * * 8,638 0
REGAL +42.00% 4,507 3,174 +26.74% 8,215 6,482
TOTAL +13.48% 17,152 15,115 +32.08% 33,743 25,547

The midsize premium car segment expanded 13.5 percent in Q2 2018 and 32 percent in the first six months of 2018. The performance bucks the trend of decrease car sales.

2018 Buick Regal Sportback - Media Drive - Austin Texas - exterior 022

The GM Authority Take

Buick Regal sales continues to rise, with the model showing very healthy growth during the second quarter. We attribute the circumstance to the following circumstances:

  1. Widespread availability of the new, sixth-generation Regal Sportback and TourX
  2. An attractive, modern and highly competitive product offering in the Regal Sportback
  3. A unique, attractive, modern and highly competitive product offering in the Regal TourX
  4. A lower base price compared to its direct rivals

We expect Regal deliveries to continue an upward trajectory in the third quarter, catching up to and likely surpassing the Acura TLX, slo long as supply allows. The Kia Stinger remains the wildcard. The new sporty model is enjoying an equally strong performance as the Regal. However, we maintain that Stinger sales will soon reach their pinnacle as a result of these factors:

  1. Satisfying the market segment sell-in rate, and
  2. A significant price premium over a similarly-sized Kia Optima, with Stinger prices easily climbing into the $50,000 range
  3. A weakness of the Kia brand to attract sufficient levels of customers willing to spend the aforementioned amount of funds on a Kia
2018 Buick Regal Sportback Reveal 06

2018 Buick Regal Sportback

2018 Buick Regal TourX Reveal 01

2018 Buick Regal TourX

About Buick Regal

The Buick Regal is a midsize-size premium passenger vehicle line that is currently in its sixth generation and slots above the compact Excelle and Verano (in China) and below the full-size LaCrosse (in North American and in China). The Regal family currently consists of the following models:

  • Regal Sportback – a four-door Regal sedan with a liftback trunk
  • Regal GS – a four-door Regal Sportback with several performance upgrades
  • Regal TourX – a five-door ruggedized wagon

Buick revealed the all-new Regal in April 2017 at the New York Auto Show and the vehicles launched for the 2018 model year. The sixth-gen model is based on the GM E2 platform, which also underpins the 2016 and newer Chevrolet Malibu and upcoming Cadillac XT4. The Regal is also sold as the second-generation Opel-Vauxhall Insignia and the NG 2018 Holden Commodore in Australia and New Zealand by GM subsidiary Holden.

Prior to the launch of the sixth-gen model, the fifth-generation Regal was available for a total of seven model years, from 2011 thru 2017. That model rode on the GM Epsilon II platform also shared with the first-gen Opel-Vauxhall Insignia and eighth-generation Malibu.

For the 2019 model year, the Buick Regal family gets a new Avenir trim level and Whisper Beige seats with Ebony interior accents for the Regal Sportback as well as a new cabin air ionizer for the Sportback and TourX models.

The sixth-gen Buick Regal is built at the Opel Rüsselsheim plant in Germany for North America and at the Shanghai-GM Jinqiao South plant operated  operated by GM China and its partner, SAIC, for the Chinese market.

About The Numbers

  • All percent change figures compared to Buick Regal Q2 2017 sales
  • In the United States, there were 77 selling days in Q2 2018 and 77 selling days in Q2 2017
  • In Canada, there were 77 selling days in Q2 2018 and 76 selling days in Q2 2017
  • China sales figures represent retail deliveries and not wholesales
  • Buick Regal sales include Buick Regal Sportback, Buick Regal TourX and Buick Regal GS

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Comments

  1. Does anyone know or can guess what percentage of these regal sales are Wagons?

    Reply
    1. My sentiments exactly. People may turn to the TourX as they seek an alternative to many similar looking CUV/SUV’s. I showed a TourX to my wife (a young 44) and she thought it was sharp but wasn’t totally convinced because it was a wagon. I’m sure if she drove it she would be sold. Unfortunately I need 6 seats.

      Reply
      1. No idea yet… and we’ve asked.

        The distribution for the Cruze is 80/20 in favor of the sedan.

        I have another lead I’m pursuing that might get me some data on the distribution.

        Reply
        1. Any news on this? Wondering what % are wagons.

          Reply
  2. The Regal sedan/hatch might be the most “meh” car GM makes.

    The wheel options are lame, there is no way to turn off the auto start/stop feature, the car doesn’t have standard LED lights like Volvo or Acura, and the interior quality is average at best.

    If this is what happens when Opel designs a car, then their being sold off won’t be a big loss to Buick customers.

    Why is Buick competing with cars that Chevrolet should be competing with? This is a huge disappointment following the successful introductions of the original Enclave and the previous gen LaCrosse. How can Buick follow those up with the Envision and this heap of mediocrity?

    Reply
    1. All in perspective. Meh cars seem to sell. The Acura TLX is the prime example. So is the Lexus ES.

      Ok, it doesn’t have standard LED lights but it also starts several grand below the Acura or the Volvo. They are available on the Buick.

      Let’s look at it in another way: can you get remote start on the Acura or the Volvo? How about active noise cancellation, the ionizing air cleaner, or wireless phone charging? (All no).

      So sure, it’s not the most exciting car. Excitement is what Cadillac is for. Buick needs to deliver a decent premium-level car… though I’m personally a fan of the idea of moving the brand upmarket, thereby eliminating the base trim level (at the least)… and raising prices.

      Reply
  3. The Acura TLX is a Sales dud, and the Volvo is not only available with remote start, but it’s integrated with Volvo On Call, so you can track the car and start it from anywhere you have cellular service.

    In no way is the Buick Regal even remotely competitive with the new S60. The Envision is completely inferior to the XC60. The new Enclave is a big, bland joke compared to the XC90. The Encore is 3rd world next to the new XC40. And no one except rental fleets would favor the new LaCrosse over the S90.

    Volvo is actually trying. Buick isn’t.

    The Regal doesn’t suck because it’s bland and boring. It sucks because it’s a cheap feeling, half baked design that GM clearly doesn’t care about. Buick is regressing.

    Reply
    1. I wouldn’t characterize the best-selling car in its segment as a “sales dud”… but that’s neither here nor there.

      The Volvo remote start you’re referring to on the current S60 (the one that’s actually on sale now, not the upcoming all-new model that has yet to sell a single unit) is an accessory and is not equipped on the overwhelming majority of models. The Regal has had remote start from the key fob AND from the myBuick app (neé RemoteLink) since 2012. Glad Volvo could join the party… half a decade later.

      But more importantly, why are we comparing the Regal to the S60? The new S60 starts at $35,800… let’s round that to $36,000 for the sake of this conversation. The Regal starts at $24,990… call it $25,000. That’s an $11,000 difference!

      A well-equipped Regal stickers for $30,000… the Volvo is as bare-bones as it gets at $5,000 more. To get the Volvo to the same level of equipment as a $30,000 Regal, you’re talking about a car that stickers at roughly $42,000. That’s an entirely different vehicle class. For that money, most buy a “real” luxury car from Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and (on occasion) Cadillac… they’re not buying Buicks, Volvos, or Acuras, the latter two have a segment ATP in the mid-30s, by the way.

      And that’s not to say that the Regal is a size class larger than the S60. So it has that going for it as well.

      If you want to compare, do compare the S60 to the ATS… itself a product that is about to be end of lifed and replaced by an all-new model. That all-new model will be the CT5, and it will walk all over the new S60… which, by the way, is a good product that I personally like.

      The Envision was an afterthought, as evidenced by no local production. It will reach the end of its life sooner than we think and be replaced by an all-new product that’s significantly more competitive.

      Maybe Buick is regressing… or maybe we haven’t seen the whole picture yet. But the former seems to be the case from the limited amount of information that we have on hand currently.

      Reply
  4. As I said early in the year that this will be the best car Buick has built that no one will buy, Sad.

    42% of not much is still not much.

    I wager the wagon sales are very low as the only ones I have seen are on dealer lots. I would guess 15% of sales if they are lucky.

    Getting people to go from other brand sedans to another when they are happy with what they have is not an easy transition. GM lost them when their customers were not happy.

    That is why GM holds an advantage in the CUV market as it is new to all and much easier to earn the sale from a new buyer in the segment. The key is to hold them there.

    If Buick had only had a car like this in the 90’s.

    Reply
  5. CUVs only wanted in Canada .Better on winter driving with AWD and best visibility.No nafta deal , unless made in Canada a 25% tariff will will be charged on any made in USA motor products.

    Reply
  6. The TourX is a sharp design and the Sportback is one of the less goofy meh cars–think Lexus ES.
    Interior quality is the biggest problem and a prime example of why Opel wasn’t a perfect match for Buick in the US where the market position is supposed to be a bit more premium.
    Alex is correct that Buick must move upmarket. As is they sit too close to Chevrolet.
    Avenir-trimmed Regals are pretty sweet, more than worth atest drive. Buick is not regressing.

    Reply
  7. It does my heart good to see the Chinese Envision lose sales and the Regal gain them within this brand. Think what would happen if they improved the Regal’s interior, offered more features, gave the wagon a V6 option and lost the ugly black plastic around the wheel wells on at least the lower trim levels.

    Reply

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