Buick is one of the many brands under the General Motors umbrella. The automotive behemoth decided to cut staple American manufacturers like Hummer (now back as an EV) and Pontiac over a decade ago, for not being strong enough brands. However, GM decided that Buick was worth keeping around. But why does General Motors put so much value on Buick? Are they a brand that will stick around, and if yes what future does Buick have in the American marketplace?
Buick As A Brand in America
Buick has always had a complicated relationship with the American consumer. If you look back at them historically, they have contributed some absolute icons to the automotive world. Cars like the Riviera, the Wildcat, and the GNX are just a few of the legends this automaker has produced. Unfortunately, as time went on and the world pulled slightly away from the muscle car trend of the 70s and 80s, Buick developed a completely different identity for themselves.
If you sat down and asked your friends what their favorite Buick is in the last ten years, their response will probably be to blankly stare at you. That’s because Buick is known as the car that no one can recognize, with even Buick’s own marketing team playing on this as a joke in some of the adverts for their cars. As well as this, the modern-day Buick has been seen as an old person’s car, with the average buyer in North America being 60 years old.
As of 2023, Buick has four available models on sale: the Enclave, the Encore, the Encore GX, and the Envision. Four crossover SUVs in a sea of crossover SUVs. The U.S. market is flooded with SUVs and crossovers, just like Buick's, and with the absolute lack of brand identity that it once enjoyed, why would you choose an Envision over an Audi Q5 or BMW X3?
The Buick Range Is Actually Secretly Good
As mentioned above, Buick has four models on offer. The automaker has really tried to make these cars as premium as possible, including the addition modern features and delivering them at competitive pricing. Even within the General Motors umbrella, Buick cars are offered at competitive prices.
Alongside this, the onboard experience is pretty good, with comfortable seats, spacious cabins, and a really smooth and comfortable ride and is the top-rated domestic automaker according to Consumer Reports. All this comes together to mean that Buick cars are not actually bad. When you put the brand image aside, if you recently spent money on a Buick you aren’t very likely to be disappointed.
The Buick Sales Numbers In America Are Abysmally Low
Despite putting out good reliable cars, the number of Buick vehicles that people actually buy in America is incredibly low, and steadily declining. In the last decade, it could be expected for the brand to move anywhere around 200,000 units a year. They also would have held about 1.3 percent of the market share. However, in 2022 Buick dropped drastically to a 0.76 percent market share and only moved 103,000 units, a huge decline from their expected numbers.
One might think that this is just a trend in vehicle purchases, or that General Motors as a company is just not selling well. They would be sorely mistaken. Comparatively, other General Motors brands are all on the rise. GMC holds a three percent market share and moved 500,000 units.
Chevrolet had an 11 percent market share in 2022. Cadillac, which could be argued as the more premium version of Buick, even saw a climb to a one percent market share. This means that the more expensive brand in GM's portfolio, is now outperforming the more budget-friendly option.
Buick Is Surviving Off Of A Unique Foreign Market
So how does this brand that seems to be completely failing in North America keep itself afloat and how did it survive when General Motors was letting go of the likes of Pontiac? The answer is simpler than you would think. The Chinese market absolutely adores Buick.
Buick has a completely different brand image in China, one that dates back to the 1911 revolution against the Qing Dynasty. The automaker has been associated with business success, political power, and opulence for almost a millennium. With modern-day Buick’s in the country, that are designed to suit the grandeur that comes with being a businessman. They are fitted with leather seats, state-of-the-art technology, and design that would rival brands like Mercedes and Lexus.
This all started with Buick signing a deal to design and create cars specifically for the Chinese market, something that no other General Motors automaker had the right to do. The brand became much more successful in China, and it became the first American car manufacturer to import cars made in China.
They have continued the tradition of making cars exclusively for the Chinese market with there being a staggering 26 different models available in the country compared to the four in North America. Their numbers are also incredibly impressive. Of the 2.3 million vehicles that GM sold in China in 2022, Buicks made up 644,000, which is considerably more than the 103,000+ units that the brand managed to shift Stateside last year.
So is the Buick brand in trouble? Well, the answer, is no. However, they aren’t the all-American brand that they used to be, choosing instead to focus on the Chinese market, developing luxury minivans for businessmen. This may not appeal to car enthusiasts or even the average American consumer, but it’s a model that’s been successful for the company. That doesn’t mean that all hope for the American market should be abandoned, we can still dream far-out dreams of a renewed Grand National.