Several months after officially announcing the Buick Encore GX for the United States and Canada, GM has confirmed that the all-new subcompact-plus crossover will also be sold in Mexico. The automaker has announced that the new utility will launch in Mexico early next year as part of strategic product in revamping Buick’s image in the North American country.
The new Encore GX, based on the GM VSS-F platform, will allow Buick to adopt a new product strategy in the premium small utility segment. The 2020 Buick Encore GX is larger than the first-generation Encore, making it an attractive option in its market segment.
“Advanced engineering techniques and exceptional attention to detail resulted in a more solid and lighter SUV, reducing weight by approximately 87 kg (192 pounds), providing increased agility and smooth handling,” said marketing manager for Buick, GMC and Cadillac at GM Mexico, Yammil Guaida, in a statement.
In terms of size, the all-new Buick Encore GX fits exactly in the white space that existed between the original Encore and the Buick Envision. However, for the Mexican market, it is still unclear if Buick will sell the Encore GX as its entry-level crossover or if it plans to use one of its two Encore “family” formulas applied in China and the United States.
In the latter case, GM could market the Buick Encore GX alongside the outgoing model – as planned in the U.S. and Canada – or instead introduce the second-generation Encore as its most-affordable utility vehicle in the Latin country.
Regardless of the product strategy the brand plans to use in Mexico, the Buick Encore GX will be offered in North America with two all-new turbocharged three-cylinder engines – as we reported exclusively in early August. The base powerplant is a turbocharged 1.2L inline-three LIH, matched exclusively to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). The combination is rated at 137 horsepower and 166 pound-feet of torque.
The second engine is a more powerful turbo-charged three-pot. Displacing 1.3 liters as the base engine, the up-level L3T motor makes 155 horsepower and 174 pound-feet of torque. This more potent mill will be coupled to the same CVT automatic in FWD variants or to a GM nine-speed automatic transmission in AWD models.
The Buick Encore GX will be available in Mexico during the first quarter of 2020, when specific details of trim levels, equipment and pricing will be announced. Like the first-generation Encore, the new Encore GX for the Mexican market will be manufactured at the GM Bupyeong plant located in South Korea.
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Comments
General Motors can equip the Buick Encore GX with composite wheels and shave another 50-75 lbs.
Looks like a Nissan, but not horrible… I like the color…