Despite fluctuating consumer demand for all-electric vehicles and a shifting regulatory environment, General Motors says it remains committed to transitioning to an all-electric light-duty vehicle lineup by the 2035 timeframe. Naturally, that transition includes the electrification of the Buick brand, which was originally poised to debut its first U.S-spec all-electric model, the Electra E5, sometime this year. Now, however, GM has stated that the U.S. launch of the Electra E5 has been indefinitely delayed.
During the recent GM Q2 earnings call, GM CEO Mary Barra stated that GM is “deferring Buick‘s first EV, which had been planned for 2024.” The CEO said that the “deferral” will ensure GM has “a balanced approach as the market develops.”
Barra’s comment was backed by a statement from a GM spokesperson, who provided GM Authority with the following:
“Buick’s previously announced EV has been deferred indefinitely, the decision was driven by market dynamics and ongoing portfolio optimization. Electrification remains a priority for GM and Buick and we’re continuing to look closely at the portfolio to meet our customers where they are and where they’ll be.”
The EV in question is the Electra E5 crossover, which is based on the GM BEV3 platform, similar to the Chevy Blazer EV. The Electra E5 initially launched in the Chinese market in 2023. Now, following a major increase in import tariffs for Chinese-made EVs by the Biden administration earlier this year, importing the Electra E5 to the U.S. from China is likely prohibitively expensive. Additionally, it appears that GM has not finalized plans to produce the Electra E5 domestically.
GM stated in 2022 that the Tri-Shield brand would go all-electric by 2030, but currently, it has no all-electric models in its U.S. lineup, and none in the pipeline either.
At present, the Electra E5 lineup in China includes three trim levels – Smart, Enjoy, and Avenir. There’s also three battery configurations offered, including Standard, Long-Range, and AWD, with range-per-charge estimates set at 338 miles, 385 miles, and 373 miles, respectively. The most powerful configuration produces 283 horsepower and 343 pound-feet of torque.
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Buick is dead in the US, why still maintaining the brand here?
Buick can continue its glory with just GL8 in China.
How irony it is huh? Your grandpa would never ever think of this to happen.
Is it that dead though?
Buick 2024 YTD number (89,830) <--- US only sales numbers:
Acura (53,371)
Alfa Romeo (4,779) <— Ouch!
Audi (93,282) <—Yes I know this is more, but only slightly more and its a much more established premium brand.
Cadillac (73,904)
Genesis (31,821)
Infiniti (28,027)
Jaguar LR (37,810) <— Jaguar and Land Rover combined. Yes they are more premium but if anyone is hurting here its Jaguar.
Lincoln (48,817)
Porsche (32,323) <—Ok this is probably technically a luxury low volume brand but they do have two SUVs that are popular models. Majority of that number must be Macans and Cayennes,
Volvo (62,882)
By that logic all these other brands are dead in the US too then. But it's really not doing that bad in the US. It doesn't need to have numbers of the Chevrolet brand. That's what we have Chevrolet for as the volume brand. It just needs a decent sized niche market of people that want attainable luxury and based on those sales numbers, it seems to be having that just fine.
Buick isn't dead here, it's selling just fine and garnering high scores with JDPower. Just because YOU don't like it doesn't make it irrelevant. Buick is actually becoming quite popular with younger people. And btw, it's "ironic", not "irony"......and it wasn't used properly as "grandpa/grandfather" is associated with Oldsmobile's ads, not Buick.
My grandpa worked 49 years at "The Buick" in Flint, including the Sit Down Strike.
Your statement could not be more accurate, "Your grandpa would never ever think of this to happen."
Build it in Mexico along with its platform mates and there will be no issue. Unless EV demand is really as bad as it seems and GM wants to feel out the US EV market first with Cadillac and Chevy.
Interesting. Didn’t GM force about half of their Buick dealers to shut down because they weren’t willing to spend lavishly on equipment to support EVs. I’m pretty sure they did. Seems like it was 47 percent of their dealers were forced out and they now only have about 1,000 stores left.
If GM doesn’t find an alternative product, they could be facing lawsuits from the remaining dealers who invested heavily in EV infrastructure and now may have no electric models to utilize it and recoup their costs.
Boy what a mess they made with that gesture. But somehow I feel GM may have had in the fine print "we are not responsible for changes in the market" at which point, the dealers that chose to opt out are screwed. Most Buick dealers by me stayed (I think we last discussed. You told me you are from Austin area and I am in Tesla infested North NJ so EVs sell here) but dealer that I was eyeing (because it has a Chevy one across the road so it'd be nice for shopping between an Equinox, Terrain, and Envision and pick based on which one has the best discounts) opted out. Now its just a Chevy & GMC dealer.
Oh, for ##### sake, near-shore the E-FOUR first, that's much more the "white-space" model that that chunky, boxy E5. Let Buick be Polestar.
Truly disappointing. I was looking forward to a premium alternative to the Chevy Equinox, and I like the understated Buick style.
Hybridization GM. Experiment with hybrids and offer every Buick model with a hybrid option and see the results. Might hurt the Buick reliability a little but the sales numbers will speak for themselves. Given the current political landscape and decreasing demand of all electrics I guess this is the best strategy right now.
I don’t want an electric vehicle.
Could this be because of something that Donald Trump said in his speech about electric vehicles?
MaryJoe has finally realized what many of us have known for some time, we don’t want EV’s.
I've always bought used cars because I hate losing money the minute I drive the new car off the lot, so I'm waiting for some good used Equinox or Brazer EV's to show up. In the meantime I drove last fall to Buffalo, NY from Cleveland to purchase a 2018 Chevy Volt PH with only 25,000 miles! The car is great! Gets 50-55 mi on a charge which is far better than any of the other PH's out there. And when using the hybrid I get about 40-45 mpg with a combined range of approx. 300-350 mi. (As some have said at other times why is it when GM has a great car they always quit making it?). For 40 some years I had always bought Buicks, and I've been very disappointed that GM has been so, so slow to get a Buick EV on the market. So I'll keep using my Volt until either I can find a good used Chevy Equinox EV, a Chevy Brazer EV, or a Buick EV with low mileage, if one ever one comes to exist!