Buick
Buick (/ˈbjuːɪk/) is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM).
Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobile brands and was the company that established General Motors in 1908.[2]
Before the establishment of General Motors, GM founder William C. Durant had served as Buick's general manager and major investor.
With the demise of Oldsmobile in 2004, Buick became the oldest surviving American carmaker.
Buick is positioned as a premium automobile brand, selling luxury vehicles positioned above Chevrolet, while priced below the flagship luxury Cadillac division.
In North America, Buick vehicles are almost always sold alongside GMC (another premium brand) vehicles at multi-brand dealerships.
U.S. market share in 2022 was 1.2%, down by nearly half of its market share in 2000.[3]
However, over the same time period, Buick sold more than 1.4 million vehicles, a record for the brand.[4]
The growth was driven by sales in China, which accounts for 80% of Buick's sales.[5]
New for 2020 was the Encore GX crossover which slotted in between the existing Encore and Envision. The Regal hatchback and station wagon were discontinued for the North American market in 2020.
In June, 2022, Buick Global Chief Duncan Aldred announced that Buick would transition its entire line-up to electric vehicles by 2030.
As part of that plan, all Buick dealers would be given the opportunity to take a buyout rather than switch to all-electric.
Aldred explained the move saying that making the transition to electric would require a considerable investment in upgrading dealer facilities and not all dealers would be willing to make the financial commitment.
Aldrerd also pointed out that most Buick dealers also sold other GM products, so accepting the buyout would not necessarily result in a dealership closing.[3]
Once Buick's top-selling model in North America, the Encore was discontinued in 2022 as more customers favored the larger Encore GX which was introduced for 2020 and became Buick's new top seller.
For the 2023 model year, Buick's North American lineup consists of the Encore GX compact crossover, the Envision compact crossover, and the Enclave mid-size crossover.