Buick made headlines last week when it confirmed a longstanding rumor that it would be offering its first Chinese-built vehicle here in the form of the Envision crossover SUV in the summer of 2016. It’s a significant development because even though Envision isn’t the first China-built volume vehicle in the U.S. market (that honor goes to the Volvo S60 Inscription); it is certainly the highest profile one to date. Since rumors about GM’s first U.S.-bound China-built vehicle began swirling during the automaker’s labor negotiations with the UAW, Buick Envision has been the talk of the town. How will the quality be? Will it be safe? What does this mean for the UAW?
Ultimately, however, what really matters is whether or not the consumer will be accepting of a China-built Buick. Spoiler alert: the answer appears to be a strong “yes”.
Let’s start with a look at Buick’s current product lineup in the U.S. Buick, of course, is a brand that is in transition. Some may still perceive Buick as a maker of traditional sedans for older customers, but the reality today is quite different. By a comfortable margin, Buick’s top two sellers this year are crossover SUVs, the large Enclave and compact Encore. Of the two, Encore is the sales champ for the year, with the small crossover moving over 61,000 units through November.
Guess where the best selling Buick is built? Most Encores are sourced from South Korea, with supplemental production coming from General Motors plants in Spain and Mexico. Clearly, Buick’s customers do not appear to take issue with Encore’s manufacturing locations. Or perhaps more to the point, maybe they don’t care.