With sales of the 2010 LaCrosse up 214%, so far this year, Buick officials are betting the brand can double its overall volume.
“I just don’t understand why General Motors kept Buick and killed Pontiac,” suggested the gentleman sitting next to me on the flight back from Los Angeles, yesterday. There are a lot of folks who echo that sentiment, though they might substitute Saturn or even long-gone Oldsmobile as the brand that should have survived GM’s bankruptcy.
Until recently, there was really just one reason why thye long-troubled Buick brand remained part of the automaker’s shrinking line-up. In a word, said GM design czar Ed Welburn, “China.” While Buick has shrunk to little more than an asterisk on the sales charts in the U.S., it is one of the top sellers in what is now the world’s largest and fastest-growing auto market.
But those who’ve written off the Buick brand for dead, at least here in the States may be in for a surprise. Indeed, the once-grand nameplate is not just treading water but looking to grow, with three new models on tap.
Signs of a turnaround began to appear, several years ago, with the launch of the big Buick Enclave crossover. Last year brought the launch of an all-new LaCrosse, and the midsize sedan has been exceeding even Buick’s optimistic expectations, LaCrosse sales climbing steadily for seven months and hitting their highest retail mark in April – sales for the year up 214%.
“We are starting to gain traction in sales,” proclaimed Buick’s marketing chief, John Schwegman, during an “immersion” meeting, this week. “But we’re not declaring victory yet.”
Over the years, the long-flailing brand has trimmed one model line after another, leaving it with little to offer even the few loyalists left in the market. The launch of Enclave and LaCrosse marked the low point, and now Buick is looking to fatten up the brand, starting with the upcoming debut of the reborn 2011 Regal.
During the immersion meeting, Buick officials confirmed that they will be launching both a compact sedan and a small crossover vehicle, as well.
The three new offerings will place Buick in segments that represent 47% of U.S. sales, officials noted, giving some weight to a promise by general manager Brian Sweeney to “double our sales in the next few years.”
While Buick is betting on a rival in the U.S. market, driven by more stylish and technically sophisticated product, the brand still has to count on China to keep its momentum going.
Buick’s success in the Asian market is a historical fluke. While Cadillac was GM’s premier brand in the U.S. market, many foreign officials favored Buicks, including the last emperor of China. After the communist takeover, his cars were taken over by the victorious cadres, notably including Chou En-Lai, the second-in-command to Mao Tse-tung.
Years later, when GM sought to open a plant and start selling cars in China, government officials gave their okay only if the maker used the Buick badge. While Chinese dealers now handle Caddy and Chevrolet products, Buick is by far the most popular brand for GM and to maintain share in the demanding market it has had to come up with stylish and competitive products.
So, credit the PATEC design and engineering center, in Shanghai, with turning the stodgy cars long offered at American Buick dealers into hip new models like LaCrosse. Under GM’s global product development system, China will continue to play a strong role in Buick products for the foreseeable future.