We’ve heard quite a bit about future General Motors electric vehicle programs like the Chevrolet Bolt EUV, Cadillac Lyriq and GMC Hummer EV, so we would not blame anyone for wondering where a Buick EV may fits into the automaker’s future product portfolio.
Buick hasn’t been left behind in GM’s plan to bring 20 new electric vehicles to market before the end of 2023. The automaker recently divulged its plan to release two new Buick EV crossovers, one of which is described as a “CUV” and the other as an “SUV.”
Buick describes the SUV model as having “more conventional crossover proportions that maximizes interior space and cargo,” while the CUV “will feature more expressive proportions with a greater emphasis on form and athletic fashion.” We interpret this as meaning one model will be more about practicality and everyday use, whereas the other will be a bit more style-forward and have some more performance and flare.
Like the Cadillac Lyriq, the Buick EV models will ride on GM’s new BEV3 dedicated electric vehicle platform and use its proprietary Ultium battery technology. Ultium batteries will range in size from 50 kWh to 200 kWh, with the largest battery providing up to 400 miles of driving range in certain models. GM has not released any details on the Buick electric crossover’s powertrains, so we don’t know how big the battery will be or how much power it will have. It stands to reason the crossovers will be offered with all-wheel drive, though.
GM has said in the past that its future EVs would feature its Super Cruise hands-free semi-autonomous technology and we’d be surprised not to see it appear in the two Buick EV crossovers.
With Buick now only producing crossovers, these two upcoming Buick EVs will be a natural fit in the brand’s lineup. It’s not clear when we should expect either to arrive, but we know that GM is going full steam ahead on its various EV programs, so it will be hard at work trying to get both to market ASAP.
Comments
400 Miles with 200 kWh makes no sense. Is this a Typo?
The Tesla Model S which uses Older Battery Tech gets 402 Miles of Range with 100 kWh Pack. Even the Heavy as hell Model X gets 355 Miles of Range on older Tesla Battery Tech.
400 miles and 200kWh would be on the largest vehicles. Of course you could do 400 miles with a smaller pack if it’s not an SUV or truck. The Bolt EV would be able to do 400 miles on ~100kWh pack. It does 259 miles with a 66kWh pack.
Build it in Oshawa!
Dear Monolos, The 200 kWh battery pack is obviously for the Hummer and pick-up truck versions, not the regular size car, SUV, EUV, and CUV versions.
I get that but a Tesla Model X weighs like 6,500 lbs and has a 100 kWh pack.
Does a Fully Loaded Silverado weigh more?
I am sorry I could be wrong. I always thought full size trucks go up to about 5,500 lbs.
This information is already fairly well known.
BT1 is the body on frame truck BEV platform with an 800VDC battery architecture with battery sizes up to 200KWh.
BEV3 is the unibody platform with 400VDC battery architecture with battery sizes up to 100KWh’s.
BT1 will be built for much more heavy duty applications like towing. BEV3 will be much lighter and much more efficient.
Why are GM’s EV products always just 2 years away????
They are going to lose me as an EV customer because they have nothing new since 2017.
Jim
Dear Jim_l,
I agree, GM has been slow to come out with thier promissed EVs. I was expecting the Buick Enspire EV to be out the end of this year since it was first intoduced in 2018 and all the rage that year set for a 2020 production date. And wow what a beauty that car was. It is the one pictured in the above article. But then it was no longer going to be a USA avaiable product and then not an EV at all. I own a 2017 Bolt EV and love it. Now I’m patiently waiting for the Buick SUV or CUV EV, or the Chevy Bolt EUV, becuase I can not afford the Cadillac Lyriq. Come on GM release the Buick Enspire like you promissed back in 2018, I’LL BUY IT!
I don’t see anything happening with GM on EV’s, so I have placed an order for a Ford Mustang Mach-E.
It is too bad because I really liked what GM did with our 2012 Volt and 2017 Bolt!
Jim
Dear Jim_l, I have to admit the Mustang Mach-E is a GREAT looking car with great specs for the 300 mile range (88 kWh) version. At $59,700 (not including the tax credit) not a bad price either for 300 mile range. All the other versions at 230 and 250 mile ranges are non-starters for me, as I need 300 mile range to take long vacation trips.
GM better give their EV production staff a JOLT because they are falling behind now with the production of the Mach-E the end of this year.
Jeff, I agree with you that the Mustang EV is great for those with that kind of money. America must make their own market for EVs by offering a wide range of vehicles for different needs. I call them purpose built EVs. My interest is entry level EVs which would allow people to enjoy both the benefits and challenges of EVs. I like the GM E300Plus, $12,000, 160-190 mile range, two people and a bag of groceries, city/urban car, affordable and practical for those of us that have modest income. Teslas, Mustang EV, Porsche, BMW, Cadillac EVs are not affordable for many people in America. So where are the entry level EVs? Manufacturers need to reach out to a wide range of consumers for EVs to have a successful transition in the USA.
Dear Freddie Winters, The Baojun E300 EV is cute. I agree, GM needs to come out with a small sub-compact budget EV in the US, but it needs to get at least 230 miles of range with a top speed of 90 mph that is under $15,000, so it’s accessible to those with modest incomes and can still be used to take longer trips and go on fast highways. The price of batteries is dropping quickly, so a budget (under $15,000) EV will probably come within 2 years to the US market, I hope. Currently, the Baojun E300 EV with it’s 190 mile range and 62 mph top speed will probably not sell very well in the US. It’s the top speed is not enough for city people that need to take a highway with speed limits of 65 to 75 mph to get to work. So far the Baojun E300 EV is only available in China as far as I know. The latest news says the Baojun E300 EV is selling for $9,000 in China only. That is a fantastic price if you don’t need to take fast highways. The modest to low income people always seem to be neglected throughout history. If we really want to solve global warming, we need sub $15,000 EVs for the masses. In the mean time, the used EV market should start to grow.
DITTO Jim and Jeff! I am tired of BS PR only. The first one out the gate with 300+ range, reliability, features gets the win. GM get your act together and at least announced what will be when specifically or you lose!
General Motors IS building and releasing multiple EVs … they’re all in China and elsewhere. I don’t think they ever actually said they’d be releasing them in America, just that they’d be releasing xx number of new EVs in the next 5 years (back in 2018 or 2019)
Dear Paulie, I guess they didn’t say the USA. I’ll have to research that. That’s depressing if true. However, it was implied that they were coming out with them in the USA, because GM’s headquarters is in the US and they did not specifically say they would not be released in the US. That was a good subtle catch. The fact that GM totally went back on their word about the Buick Enspire EV release set for fall of 2020 in the mid $40,000 price tag was enough for me to loose hope in GM and consider the 300+ mile Mustang Mach-E for spring of 2022 when I’ll be ready for my next EV, unless they come out with a moderately priced 300+ mile range EV for the US market by then. But I refuse to buy a Tesla because I feel that Elon Musk is a person with low moral character based on his actions over the past two years, especially with his irresponsible actions and tweets regarding the Corona virus pandemic, his snap initial endorsement of Kanye West for president without vetting him first, stock manipulation and many other immature and immoral actions and tweets.
I don’t understand. The timing for BT1 and BEV3 have been well known and have not changed.
We wonder why GM has not chosen to use the VOLTEC platform on some modest sized vehicles, like our superior 2017 Chevy VOLT. It’s a winner and goes 425 miles!
One thing not said in the article is whether the new Buick will be sold here or only in China where GM has a market. Printed articles in the past has stated GM will sell the new Buick EVs only in China. Do you have any idea on sales in the US?
Both of these Buick’s were shown at GM’s EV day in March, and all of the those vehicles should be for the US.
China has a ready made market for electric vehicles as mandated with incentives by the Central Government in China. Our journey in the USA is far different. We have the freedom to make our own choices, for better or worse. I hope we are able to transition to electric vehicles in a way that brings us new and different good jobs that will lead us to a cleaner environment.
So are they calling one of these “Electra” or not? They really should.
Excellent comment ^^^^
I hope it looks like it does here and not a Toned down version!
If it actually had those wheels and that stance, no way would it ride smooth at all. You would feel every pebble, let alone a pothole.
As Nate said above and many more have said in the past, please Buick, name your flagship electric vehicle Electra! It even follows along with the names beginning in “E”.
How about a plan for today? Everything from GM is blah blah in the future we will do these wonderful things.
GM has the E300Plus made in China, for sale in China. NOT FOR USA. What happened to Lordstown, Ohio? What happened to “Buick City” Flint, Michigan? Good blue collar jobs have been sent offshore for lower wages and no benefits or legacy costs.
GM’s battery factory in Lordstown has begun construction. Production begins early 2022.
Flint builds fullsize trucks.
If General Motors was like most car companies, Buick would have introduced hybrids by now to acquaint Buick buyers of life with an electric vehicle; but because GM CEO Mary Barra hates hybrids and reason why the Chevrolet Volt was killed off, we’ll have to live with what Buick brings to market.
GM CEO Mary Barra has said why go half way with hybrids when we are aiming for pure electric. GM has stated that they we putting all their efforts into EV and skip hybrids. II am with you, would like to see them in the US before 2022.
Buick does sell a great hybrid, the Velite 5 which is a cloned Chevy Volt. But I doubt you can get one in the U.S.
Velite 5 has been discontinued in China. Replaced by Velite 6 and up and coming BEV2 Velite 7.
@omegatalon: Buick did have the LaCrosse mild-hybrid model that really worked well. Great MPG’s and the car just didn’t sell.
Bring to market where? GM is constantly saying 2023 is their magic year for EVs, ok so which market are they referring too? The North American or the Chinese market? Currently the only market that embraces EVs that GM sells in isn’t North America. And so far as of 2019 only ~16k actually did so with GM.
The 10 models GM showed at their EV day in March will all be coming to North America.
Every GM brand is damaged goods for Europe and India aside from Buick. As a primarily imported brand Buick would be profitable quickly and could be used to sell all GM EVs.
With the exception of maybe Mokka Buick has a far better SUV/CUV like up.
GM has been slow to come out with thier promissed EVs. I was expecting the Buick Enspire EV to be out the end of this year. It was first intoduced in 2018, was all the rage that year and set for a 2020 production date. What a beautiful car it was. It is the one pictured in the above article. But then it was rumored to be a China only product and then thier were unfounded rumers that it was not going to be an EV at all, which this article seems to disprove.
I own a 2017 Bolt EV and love it. Now I’m patiently waiting for the Buick SUV or CUV EV, or the Chevy Bolt EUV, becuase I can not afford the Cadillac Lyriq. Come on GM release the Buick Enspire like you promissed back in 2018, I’LL BUY IT!
You can order now the Ford Mustang Mach-E and get it delivered next year.
In a Covid Depression expect even slower going.
Let’s not fool ourselves. The shutdown hobbled the economy and 6 Covid-19 strains are going to make a vaccine tough.
O interest rates, unemployment, wage cuts all mean the used car market is where the real action will be.
Most here think it’s “fake news”…Regardless, during these slow times ICE seems to slowed down while EVs seem to be on the fast track…
That’s because rich people looking to show off are the only people buying ev
Rich people who are not financially impacted are buying ev to show off .
As long as Mary Bara is being inclusive, making micro agressions a thing of the past, and the cafeteria vegan then who cares how GM is doing. She sure doesn’t/ She should have been fired long ago.
Dear bubbaq, I totally disagree with you on that. I think Mary Barra is doing a great job and the Chevy Bolt EV came out under her direction as well as the entire all EV goal for GM. However, she is slow in getting out the rest of those promissed EVs. She needs give her EV team a jolt and start coming out with those EVs. We’ll see what the Cadillac Lyriq looks like on August 6th and the Bolt EUV and Buick EVs hopefully shortly after that.
According to the sustainability report (Pg 35), GM now has 60% of its resources working on EVs compared to 20% 3 years ago. I think they’ve been jolted.
Mary is the new Ginny R!….yeah that CEO who got booted from I B M finally too after too many wasted years of doing nothing!
Raymond:
Maybe Ford will even sell you one in Puerto Rico!!!!
I made the decision to go with a Mustang Mach-E Premium rear wheel drive with extended range battery.
Jim
I just hope it is something groundbreaking and exciting, I don’t see anyone striving to own a Buick in the same fashion as people strive to own German cars so GM really needs to knock the socks off buyers to see these models sell well. With the shift to EVs, Tesla certainly figured out a great formula combining technology, performance, and styling to make something nobody has seen before and they are reaping the benefits. The best EVs convert buyers, they don’t act as compliance cars and GM needs to remember that. I am always a supporter of bringing Pontiac back to help in the forefront of pushing sporty EVs into the market as I could see that help sell EVs in higher numbers than Buick; people like to say that it wouldn’t work but when you put the facts together it could be a viable option if GM maps and coordinates everything in product planning correctly.
Buick catered to the retiree crowd for too long to be aspirational anymore.
I would be willing to bet that most people under 50 would be embarrassed to buy one, and would probably have to defend their purchase to their friends.
That’s not a good place to be for a brand.
A Buick e.v. done right and done now could have easily revitalised the brand and given Tesla a run for their money, unfortunately all we ever get are false promises of future plans. Still I guess Mary and the team are busy all day on sustainability and inclusivity committees
That Buick cuv EV looks good but with Cadillac going all EV I would like to see Buick offer gas engines with superior interior. Compete with the genesis G80-90. Classic comfort cruiser. Just my preference
Why won’t Buick take a serious look at the all electric E300Plus that GM just launched in China?? $12,000 and 160 mile range for an entry level EV sounds workable for a city or urban transportation vehicle.
Let’s face it, GM and EV’s blah, blah, blah. All talk, no walk. If they do happen to put something out, it looks like something from a high school auto shop, a re-used ’70s Japanese mini van that runs on batteries.
My concern is about practical, city or urban transportation at an “entry Level” price range. The Chevy Dealership told me to buy the Bolt for only $47,000 which I do not consider ” entry level”. It seems the bottom end of electric cars is non-existent. I don’t expect them to look like a Corvette but I do expect affordability for people of modest income . I expect a range of at least 150 miles and room for two people and a bag of groceries. It should be purpose built for city and urban transportation. I do not consider electric cars with a range of under 100 miles as practical. We need a creative commitment from the manufacturers to entry level electric cars. We should have plenty of advertising, availability, home charging, dealership charging, and nationwide infrastructure support. Without Federal Government support it will be a rough road to an electric car transition for America. Anybody remember the first Transcontinental Railroad? It received substantial Federal Government support even though we were in the midst of a Civil War!!
Why does the federal government have to build the infrastructure for electric cars? Private industry built the infrastructure for the ICE vehicles, get the product out there, build the sales and the charging station chains will start appearing. In the interim, the auto manufacturers would be wise the invest in a few charging stations, ala Tesla, to get the ball rolling while the EV’s increase in the population. The “support” the railroads received came by way of free federal land in the then wide open western states/territories. The amount of land required to build a charging station is far less than the right of ways granted the railroads. Besides, there currently are a lot of federal tax incentives to aid the building of the charging stations.
Tesla’s investment in charging infrastructure is a dead end. They needed to do it because it would have been near impossible to sell an EV without a place to charge it publicly in the beginning. But as public charging has increased the need for a private networks has greatly decreased.
What makes charging infrastructure very different than gas stations in need by the consumer. Gas stations are required for ICE vehicles. If you have a car and drive it you will go to a gas station. So if I’m going into the gas station business I find a spot that has a concentration of car traffic and build a station.
For EVs a large concentration of car traffic doesn’t mean your charging station will get any business. A lot of owners will just charge at home. So outside of locations off the freeway, most are going to be opportunistic charging (grocery stores, malls, movie theaters, etc…) And even the chargers near highways will peak during the weekends and holidays. They might have a very low usage outside of those windows.
So the EV charging station chains will have to be smart in picking their locations. Many of them will probably start at the areas of existing commercial concentration, what’s wrong with that? Many of the current malls have gas stations around their perimeter, so it must work. After that, you will see the EV charging stations along interstates and major highways, just like now. And just like now, some will make it, and some won’t. But we can’t build the future of EV’s around “might’s”, “maybe’s” and “possibly’s”. It will take the same guts and enterprising foresight that built Mobil, Chevron, Shell, ARCO and all the other gasoline service station chains.
That’s the point outside of interstates all others locations are really supported by the businesses the chargers reside at. Once again gas stations are required by ICE vehicles. EV charging outside your home is hit or miss. The only place they might be successful is near apartment complexes.
I did not say the Federal Government should build the infrastructure for electric cars. The key word is support. The “free” land the Federal Government provided for the Transcontinental Railroad had value that helped the private sector railroads actually build the railroad. If the Federal Government can enhance the transition to electric cars with most of the heavy lifting being done by the private sector, I say that is good. What this support would look like in the end is yet to be determined. Perhaps we have some common ground during this time of great division in America.
Just as long as that common ground is privately acquired and not provided gratis by the Federal government, i.e., taxpayers. I believe we will be all EV someday. I had hoped to see it in my lifetime. But, my lifetime is getting shorter, and the movement to EV’s is glacial at this point. I had actually anticipating having my last vehicle being an EV, but, sadly that didn’t happen. As I’ve said before, the main drawbacks to EV’s taking off in the market place are quick charging stations in the abundance of gasoline stations, and EV’s that people actually want and can afford to buy (no more ugly shrunken SUV/CUV things at ridiculously high prices).
How about utilities or auto manufacturers and the already existing gas station chains work on a mutually beneficial arrangement to establish banks of charging stations, first in areas where the electrics are selling and then be prepared to expand to meet increasing demand? Gas stations could expand with cafe, coffee and donuts while the customer waits on a 20 minute supercharge on the battery and the utility makes money, gas station makes money? Better buy stock in some of the big utilities! I envision the utilities also working with car dealerships to install a bank of charging stations for a nominal fee plus sharing some of the charging profit with the dealership. Coffee and donuts in the showroom while the customer looks over the latest vehicles being offered? I believe synergistic relationships could be established as long as profit is involved.
There you go, now you’re getting the idea. It doesn’t always have to be the Federal government doing the building. They have a tendency to screw up projects like this anyway. It really doesn’t matter who the partners are, other than the obvious you mentioned, there could be some ballsy new companies that see profit in future EV services, and are willing to put up the money now to get the ball rolling. You got to remember, people in this country can do wonderful things once they put their mind to it!