As GM Authority has covered extensively, President Trump has enacted a range of new tariffs on imported goods, including a 25-percent tariff on vehicles assembled outside of the U.S. That’s bad news for Buick, as the majority of the brand’s U.S. lineup is assembled overseas. And all that leads us to wonder – will Buick survive in the U.S. in the face of long-term import tariffs?
Currently, the Envision, Envista, and Encore GX are all manufactured outside the U.S., with the Envision built in China, and the Envista and Encore GX assembled in South Korea. Under the Trump’s new tariffs, each of these models are subject to steep new taxes, and while GM may attempt to absorb some of that cost, the most likely outcome is a price increase that’s passed on to consumers, significantly diminishing the brand’s value proposition in the hugely competitive crossover segment.
Meanwhile, the fourth model in the brand’s U.S. lineup, the Enclave, is assembled at the GM Lansing Delta Township plant in Michigan. However, even the Enclave isn’t immune to tariff-related pressures. Per previous coverage, just 36 percent of the Enclave’s parts content is sourced from the U.S. and Canada (combined figures), while 24 percent is sourced from Mexico. The remainder originates from other countries, and although USMCA protections currently shield some of these parts from tariffs, that exemption may end as early as May 3rd.
While the Enclave won’t be taxed as a finished import vehicle, tariffs on foreign-sourced components could still affect the final cost. The component-level tariffs are assessed on the declared value of the imported parts, adding further complexity to GM’s cost calculations and pricing strategy.
That all said, the Tri-Shield brand’s latest U.S. sales trajectory is trending solidly upwards. In Q1 of 2025, Buick posted a 39.29-percent year-over-year increase, with sales rising from 44,383 units in Q1 of 2024 to 61,822 units in Q1 of 2025. Nevertheless, sustained growth could be jeopardized in the face of rising tariff costs.
Another factor to consider is a shrinking dealer network footprint. Following GM’s EV compliance directive in 2022, which asked dealers to either invest significantly in electric vehicle sales infrastructure or accept a buyout offer, the number of Buick dealerships in the U.S. dropped by roughly half. Now, with so few standalone showrooms remaining, any pressure on inventory or pricing could further destabilize retail operations.
As of February 2025, Buick dealers held an approximate four-month supply of inventory. That level may seem stable for now, but it won’t shield buyers from potential price increases in the near future. Indeed, the path forward for the brand in the U.S. may depend on how nimbly GM can adapt its production strategy – and how much cost consumers are willing to bear to continue driving a Buick.
But what’s your take, dear reader? Do you think the Tri-Shield brand will be able to weather Trump’s sweeping new tariffs? Let us know your thoughts by posting in the comments!
Comments
I think Buick will survive in the U.S. if GM brings production back to North America. What GM really needs to do with the brand is to bring ALL Buick production to the U.S. and reinvest in Flint Michigan and revitalize Flint and build new assembly plants for Buick including a New Buick World Headquarters. I would absolutely be Heartbroken and Very Sad if Buick were to pull out of the U.S. Market and or worse end up joining Oldsmobile and Pontiac. GM could also build the Envista, Encore GX and Envision at the Fairfax Assembly plant or any other U.S. GM assembly plant that has closed and re-open it for Buick production. All Buick Engines and Transmissions as well as All Parts and Components should be made here too. But I really would Love if GM would reinvest in Flint Michigan and manufacture All Current and Future Buicks there including All Powertrains and Parts and Components. I absolutely Love Buick and it’s one of my favorite GM brands in addition to Cadillac. I want Buick as well as Cadillac to both have a successful and bright future here in the U.S. with Lots of New and Exciting designs and product as well as potential for both brands to thrive and be successful and also to attract New and Younger buyers including Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z who are interested in both brands as a consideration for their first or next car purchase. It’s disgusting what Mary and GM have done with Cadillac and Buick and how far they have fallen. I really want Buick to be continued to be offered in the U.S. market and sold here. I believe Buick has a future in the U.S. and for that to happen GM needs to move production from overseas to North America. Buick should also have a dealership in Every major metropolitan city in the U.S. like Cadillac currently does. I will Always buy a Buick made in the U.S. than one that’s made overseas. Buick should be ‘The New Symbol For Quality In America” once again and forever.
Michigan is not the place to invest in manufacturing, much less Flint. Flint’s crime rate is through the roof and as a ridiculous city income tax. Sound advice just a poor location.
It doesn’t help that Icky Ricky Snyder destroyed the city’s water supply.
And why is Flint such a hell hole? Would it have to do with the fact that GM mostly abandoned it and left nothing but poverty in its wake?
GM abandoned Flint as a response. You’re confusing cause and effect.
I remember my dad coming home and telling me how he couldn’t use a certain machine at the hydromatic plant because it was unplugged. Why was it unplugged?
Because Flint taxed each individual machine in the factory, and it required authorization to enable one.
I agree with you. I am looking to replace my 2020 buick enclave but my local dealership who also sells chevrolet, GMC. He was a buick dealer also until he was forced to give it
up because GM was forcing him to buy elec vehicles. He refused so they pulled the
buick line. This is NO area for elec vehicles. So now the closest buick dealer is 40
miles. Not happening. The chevy blazer is made in China. No way. Ford is looking good.
The Blazer is made at Ramos Arizpe Assembly in Mexico.
They could even start with Lansing Grand River.
There is zero chance of all vehicles and parts ever being made in the USA again. If GM tried to make the Envista, Encore GX and Envision at the Fairfax Assembly plant as you suggested they would likely cost far more than just paying the 25% tariffs, that is how expensive it is to manufacture vehicles in the US. The US is almost laughably uncompetitive in any manufacturing sector that requires significant low and semi-skilled labor. That is why car parts like wiring harnesses and most fasteners that are labor intensive are made 100% outside of the USA.
The US economy functions much better if our low and semi-skilled workers are deployed in services and logistics, where there are plenty of jobs with similar wages to manufacturing. We should let Mexico, South Korea and other friendly nations make cars and parts, they can do it just as well for significantly less money. The US has a severe labor shortage that will get worse, we don’t have any spare workers to put together high labor car parts or autos.
Right on. The US doesn’t need to make anything- just focus on those village economy jobs while the rest of the world zooms by us 🙄
Buick & GM must produce 100% in the USA because the USA is their main market for vehicle sales.
Now, the US tariffs are important and right, so that we finally have to think globally about why more and more goods are being produced cheaply somewhere and then sold at a high price in the USA.
This can’t continue, because we must always produce the goods directly to the customer and then actually sell them!
Remember that “the world talks about climate change every day,” but goods must always be cheaper, and logistics are not viewed negatively. Why is a BEV/ICE vehicle produced in China/India/Mexico and then delivered to the USA or Europe by ship or plane just because it’s cheaper???
Worst example in Europe & Germany:
A few years ago, solar cells were delivered to Europe by plane because Germany had a target date for eco-subsidies at the time! This is the biggest nonsense, but the EU and Germany are against the 20% US tariffs…
Hope the comment is in English!
I hate to tell you this but Buick China sales are much larger than US sales. One figure say fives times larger and another one that I searched said that China is 80% of their sales. I would never buy one made in China myself but I’m big on fact checking and just thought that I would throw that out there.
The day open season starts for Taiwan and the hunter in question decides to nationalize US assets GM will wish they didn’t put all their eggs in that basket. And that is not a matter of IF but a matter of WHEN.
I was frustrated about it at first but now I stopped caring since it seems nobody has woken up. After the pandemic, if these companies haven’t realized they need to start safeguarding and preparing for the worst case scenario then you can’t feel bad for them. Lenin once said “The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them.”
The days of the horse and buggy are long over, and so is the out dated idea that all parts and assemblies can only take place in the US. Buggy producers had basic materials (wood) and basic hand forged steel items. They handled mfg and assemblies in house. Get real. Our technology spans across the world and makes our products competitive and better. Trump is lost in the past and destroying our economy.
And it drives down our wages and employment numbers……
“What to do with the Buick/GMC dealerships?” has been a longstanding question that GM can no longer avoid.
In this region the Buick/GMC dealerships tend to be themselves (versus with Chevy or Cadillac on the same lot), and I don’t see a GMC dealership surviving by itself. GM needs to either get serious about Buick in the US again, or finally make the tough decisions.
GM’s Korean factories that make Encore GX and Envista are highly productive and quality of work. GM’s Chinese factories that make Envision have overwhelmingly low labor costs. If these vehicles are made in the U.S. due to tariffs, they will be more expensive and offered at a worse quality than before. Who on earth benefits from this tariff? UAW? I honestly don’t understand Trump’s recent moves.
Who benefits from the tariffs are the US workers that would be employed and paying taxes to the US- not the people who are slaving for “unbelievably low’ wages not being able to purchase the product they build.
This Oc comment and all the upvotes he gets is why I have no faith in the future of this country. People have become pro-totalitarian and pro-no freedom of speech and have this delusion that a world led by Ch!n@ will lead to a better future for the planet. But one doesn’t need to do much beyond looking over to the Philippines to see how they are being treated by their navy. Its like my friend said. “These days, too many people have too many freedoms to even know to not take them for granted.” Oh well. I guess we will soon reach the point where we will think of the saying “be careful what you wish for.”
Just about every vehicle sold in the US either has a plethora of foreign sourced components or is entirely foreign made. In an ideal fantasy world, placing tariffs on foreign products would get companies to shift to domestic production of its products. But in the real world, it’s easier said than done since businesses love the profits generated from making things in cheaper places and at cheaper labor costs, and still selling them at high prices to US consumers. We are part of a world economy. Tariffs were tried before in 1930 during the great depression with the Smoot-Hawley act, and it made the depression worse. People must learn from history.
Have to wait and see if China lowers their tariff’s then the US will lower theirs.
Only GM sycophants think manufacturing in China is a good thing.
Outsourcing to a communist country and then shipping to the US? Yeah that sounds real carbon neutral (goal zero much?) Mary.
Walk around your house and check every appliance and electronic device to see where they are made. China will be on 90% of those items.
All manufacturing roads go through China because they have the infrastructure thanks to the global west’s desire for cheaper goods.
Blaming GM or Mary Barra is just ignoring 50 years of history.
Mary Barra at GM, like Tim Cook at Apple, were paid to have their companies ready for the future.
Mary Barra at GM, like Tim Cook at Apple, collected lavish salaries while pursuing the short-term, and many didn’t even question it because the results worked at the time. Well, hello. The door just slammed on the good times, and now both need to answer why their leadership has their companies so badly mis-positioned.
You are totally right. So we should just say “f*** it” and keep taking our personal liberties for granted while a totalitarian country gains power and has the ability to coerce anyone they see fit and bend it to their will.
And the hilarious thing is, the same people that makes comments like this, refusing to acknowledge that it will be a challenge that would take time to reshore or nearshore jobs away from a hostile entity, are the same ones blasting Trump for “siding with Putin” when it comes to Ukraine because “Evil can’t win.” Lets see the reaction when Taiwan is next to be invaded.
Have patience this will eventually all come to pass consumers are voters
Biden vindicated Carter. And if things don’t straighten out fast Trump will vindicate Hoover!
But voters still need to be careful. Real chance the next Democrat president will pick up where Biden’s EPA left off and with a vengeance.
I own a 2025 Buick Enclave and have taken two long road trips and it is a wonderful product, well built and smooth quiet ride with no issues whatsoever since purchasing and the turbo 4 has performed flawlessly getting between 27.9 to 32.4 mpg’s on all kinds of roads and mountains, I hope GM keeps building this in the USA and move the rest of their Buick production here also.
Not that it matters much, but the Chevy Blazer is made in Mexico, not China. It is being discontinued after the current model year.
GM could consider making an upscale Buick version of the Chevy Bolt at the Fairfax plant and a sedan version of the CT4 or CT5. Badge engineering isn’t always a bad thing so long as the vehicles look different.
I agree with Peter, the first commenter; I wish Buick would return to being a US-based brand with a broad array of products sourced here. I’m not sure that’ll ever happen though. Barra only has two years left before mandatory retirement so perhaps a new CEO less adamant about EVs and offshoring and less enthralled with China could change things. Buick is essentially dead in the US now though. Barra has them focused totally on China retaining a light US presence only so as to market Buicks to Chinese consumers as an “American” brand but in reality it’s more akin to Wuling. With the Chinese now more loyal to all-things China, an “American” car is less appealing so there really isn’t much reason to keep the US connection. Barra could pull the plug at any time.
The real question isn’t whether Buick survives but rather whether GM itself makes it. The onslaught of EVs that Barra forced upon GM are not selling at the projected volumes (10,000 vs 600,000 for EV pickups) and are being highly incentivized ($25,000 off a Brightdrop) so GM itself is not in a good place right now and the tariffs, though perhaps beneficial in the long run, are going to further strain the company’s bottom line.
Buick is not dead in the US have you even glanced at the sales charts? They’re outselling a number of brands. That being said, they do need to bring production back stateside, otherwise the tarrifs are gonna kill GM’s oldest brand.
Hopefully Cadillac and Lincoln survive in the U.S. long term as well besides Buick especially with those brands going All Electric in 2030.
Buick Q1 sales are skewed because Buick customers rushed to buy Buicks before the tariffs went into effect. Unless the tariffs are removed or reduced significantly, Buick’s Q2, Q3 and Q4 sales will 20% of Q1s sales.
Q2 and Q3 combined will be 20% of Q1’s sales.
The US consumer won’t be covering a 25%+ across the board increase on top of already high prices. People are going to scale back to the BARE necessities, and discretionary purchases like giant cell phones and nice-to-have vehicles will be the first to get cut. Anything that can wait, will wait.
This right here. Most people will probably wait out purchasing till Trump is out in hopes the next guy removes tariffs. That’s what I would do.
GM needs to make more Buicks in the U.S. It is the highest ranked brand in terms of reliability and satisfaction. The Chevy Equinox is made in Mexico and perhaps the Equinox and Envision production can be moved here. Also I hope GM has learned to beef up and nuture its brands especially the oldest one. Buyers of Olds and Pontiac went to Japanese and South Korean brands
Almost all entry level vehicles are made outside the US for a reason, our labor costs are too high, especially after the latest UAW contract where autoworkers make as much as people with Master’s degrees.
Despite the 25% pay raise UAW employees received from the last contract, labor is still only 9.1% of a GM’s vehicle MSRP, the rest is corporate greed. In 2009, in order the save the big 3 from their mismanagement, the UAW gave up their COLAs, what a mistake that was, they finally got it back in 2024.
Of course, Buick ranks highest in JD Power and is considered the most reliable of all of GM’s brands. Ironically, however, this is because most Buick vehicles are produced overseas. If GM moves all of Buick’s production back to the U.S., Buick’s reliability ranking will decline. UAW workers are lazy people who don’t put any effort into quality and efficiency while earning college graduates’ wages. While Factory Zero makes 6 lemon electric trucks an hour, GM’s Korean factory produces 60 suv an hour with great quality.
I don’t know, every time I drive by a UAW assembly plant I see thousands of completed vehicles ready to ship. I’m sure they would not be there if everyone in the plant were “lazy”. Don’t blame Factory Zeros low output on the UAW. Blame the idiots that went overboard on EVs and starved the plant of product.
Although Factory Zero is an extreme example, but when you look at other factories, it’s clear that GM’s U.S. plants are less efficient. You seem to think EVs are a problem, but Delta Township factories that make ICE vehicles only produce up to 40 to 50 units per hour, less than 60. GM’s overseas factories are performing significantly better than this, and unlike the UAW, its workers work flexibly. I love America, but it’s time to admit that America’s manufacturing efficiency and workmanship have declined. We are no longer competitive in manufacturing compared to other countries.
Admitting is one thing. But we need to change this. We cannot continue this way or else be ready for a dystopian future led by an authoritarian nation that maintains power by surveilling their own people and re-educating ethnic muslims. This is more than just about producing quality vehicles. The state of our freedoms, liberties, a basic human rights are at stake and there are more than a few leaders *cough cough WEF* who would love to see a world inspired by that nation.
Sorry jg, President Xi has hired 18 people/robots to peruse this website and put Thumbs Down on any comments daring to suggest that the cars be made in the US.
GMA is asking the wrong question. If these tariffs stay in place long term, we will be mired in the global Trump Great Depression and all car companies on the planet will be restructuring in bankruptcy if the don’t get government bailouts. These tariffs are the biggest US economic policy mistake since the great depression. Only Trump, Navarro and American UAW members think these are good idea.
Buick, with 75% of their products being imported, will be the first casualty of the tariffs. Given their lineup of 4 boring Milk Trucks, I won’t miss this brand.
Buick= the GEO Division of the 2000s.
Who is going “Thumbs Down” on comments about making cars in the US? I’d consider buying one if it were made here. South Korea/China/Mexico – No thanks.
Basically you must pay to play. Never was a fan of shuttering the auto , textile industries and move out of US . The rules should be even for all manufacturers, Period.. Maybe this would be a good time to bring back Pontiac!
A generational opportunity for America to bring back automotive jobs and make manufacturing competitive again. Rich rent seekers may suffer short-term but combine with mass deportations to ease pressure on housing and the working class will finally benefit in a way it hasn’t since the 1960s.
The Envision Avenir is currently on my list for consideration. However it already has two strikes against it, where it’s built and being under powered. If the already significant price goes up that will be strike three and off the list! Also, would have liked the XT4, sadly yet another dumb decision by the GM “brain trust”.
GM can absorb tariffs by increasing content and expanding margins. In addition, Buick can revert to its roots and produce limited edition upscale models to further these margins.
Last week, CNBC reported that a leading auto industry research firm calculated that it costs $70 per hour to build a car in the US vs. $40 per hour in Canada vs. $6 per hour in Mexico. Yes, it would be nice to bring auto assembly back to the US, but non-luxury cars would cost more than customers can afford.
Honda manufactures the CR-V and soon Civic in the US and I won’t mention their larger model. Just their economy models. And they continuously top the American Made Index. Toyota also manufactures the Rav4 in the US now along with the Corolla, Hyundai manufactures the Tucson, Kia the Sportage, and Subaru its entire lineup in Indiana. None of these are luxury cars and are all competitively priced.
Excuses are like a**holes. Everyone has one.
Does “can’t afford US workers” apply to CEOs as well?
1. Honda – $2.4M
2. Nissan – $4.6M
3. Toyota – $6.9M
4. VW – $7.9M
5. Ford – $21M
6. GM – $29M
7. Stellantis – $39M
Mary’s just getting by with $14,000/hour….10 times what the Honda CEO makes.
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I have a 2025 envision that I have had for 3 months. A deer ran into me and my car has been sitting in the shop for 4 weeks waiting on 3 parts from China. Ridiculous that the parts can’t be made in the US.
I own a Buick encore GX and the build quality is exceptional high. US union assembly is expensive, and frankly, lower quality.