SAIC-GM About To Build Two-Millionth Buick GL8 In China

SAIC-GM, General Motors’ main joint venture in China, has just announced that the 2,000,000^th Buick GL8 unit will soon be built in the Asian country.

The automaker officially announced that the two-millionth Buick GL8 is scheduled to roll off the production line on September 23^rd at one of the company’s plants in Shanghai, marking a new historic milestone for Buick’s successful full-size MPV manufactured and sold exclusively in China. As such, the GL8 will cement its position as the most-produced and most-favored MPV in the Chinese market.

Notably, the Buick GL8 will reach the historic 2 millionth-unit milestone in China just as it completes its first 25 years of uninterrupted production as the flagship of its segment in that country. Since its introduction in 1999, GL8 production has spanned four generations while the MPV has received multiple updates over the years that have transformed the nameplate into a family of models.

Currently, the Buick GL8 lineup in the Chinese market consists of four distinctive models spanning the last three generations of the MPV sold simultaneously – a rarity in the automotive industry. While SAIC-GM usually separates the fourth-generation flagship Buick GL8 Century from the rest of the lineup, this range-topping variant sits above the all-new GL8 PHEV, the third-generation GL8 ES and the long-serving GL8 Legacy.

In fact, the reason for the early announcement of the 2,000,000^th Buick GL8 unit built in the Asian country was the solid sales result recorded by the MPV during the month of August. The joint venture revealed that the standard GL8 range (excluding the Century model) sold a total of 9,974 units and was the best-selling MPV in China last month. The record represents the new monthly sales high for the GL8 family so far in 2024.

The 2,000,000^th Buick GL8 in China will be produced on Monday, September 23^rd, and the new milestone will continue to boost the successful legacy of Buick’s longest-running nameplate in the country. Although its sales performance was affected by the absence of an electrified variant in the face of increasing competition from local-brand MPVs, the arrival of the GL8 PHEV in late April once again increased its level of competitiveness in the Chinese market.