Buick would like to fill a hole in its SUV line-up with the Chinese-made Envision.
The UAW wants to head off plans by General Motors to begin importing a new crossover-utility vehicle from China.
While the Detroit automaker has not made a formal announcement, it is widely expected to begin importing a version of the Buick Envision it produces at a plant near Beijing. It could fill an open niche in the expanding Buick crossover line-up, a spokesman confirmed, though GM might alternatively move to produce the Envision at a U.S. plant.
The possibility of importing its first Chinese-made product to the U.S. isn’t sitting well with the United Auto Workers Union, which said such a move would be “tone-deaf.” The union is currently negotiating a new four-year contract with GM and is asking its workers to authorize a strike should talks fail to reach a settlement by the September 14th deadline.
“After the sacrifices made by U.S. taxpayers and the U.S. workforce to make General Motors the profitable quality company it is today, UAW members are disappointed with the tone-deaf speculation that the Envision would be imported from China,” said Cindy Estrada, head of the union’s GM Department, in a statement.
(UAW asks workers to authorize strikes at GM, FCA if contract talks collapse. Click Here for the story.)
GM was one of the first foreign automakers to set up a manufacturing facility in China, just before the turn of the new millennium. Its various brands, including Buick, now lag only Volkswagen AG’s marques in terms of overall Chinese sales. Until now, GM has said it wasn’t planning to export products from China because it could barely keep up with local demand. But that could be changing as the Chinese car market slows for the first time in nearly two decades.
The Envision went into production at a plant in the city of Yantail, southeast of Beijing, last year. Demand has been strong, with sales approaching 60,000 through the end of July.
(GM suffers slide in China sales as car market suddenly slumps. Click Here for the latest.)
The model slots into a gap between the current Buick Encore and Enclave models, and would go up against the likes of the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Jeep Cherokee and Toyota RAV4. That has become one of the hottest market segments in the U.S. and, indeed, the world.
While Buick is one of the strongest brands in China it is still struggling to regain its footing in the U.S. after decades of decline. It has scored some modest successes, largely with the addition of new utility vehicles like Encore and Enclave, and would like to cover even more of the white space in the fast-growing ute market.
GM, as a whole, is adding more of these vehicles. The Cadillac brand, in particular, expects to introduce as many as three new utility vehicles before the end of the decade, including one of similar dimensions to the Envision.
There has been speculation that this new Caddy crossover would be built at the GM plant in the Detroit suburb of Orion Township. That facility is also set to start rolling out a new 200-mile battery-electric vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt. It already produces several small passenger cars, including the Chevy Sonic, which GM brought back from South Korea after union workers made extensive concessions to drive down labor costs at the plant.
It may be possible, some sources suggest, to build the Buick Envision at the Orion plant, as well.
And GM is now under intense pressure to do so rather than turn to China. The subject is all but certain to become a hot topic during the ongoing GM-UAW contract talks.
But even if the maker does go with a domestic production plant, most analysts expect to see China begin to serve as a production source for the American market. Volvo has already announced plans to bring in a stretched version of its S60 sedan from a plant in China, and other manufacturers could follow in the next several years, according to industry analysts.
(GOP frontrunner Donald Trump wants wage cuts at Ford to keep production out of Mexico. Click Here to find out more.)
I had hoped that, by now, both GM and the UAW would have realized that consumers are the third and, perhaps, most important party to their negotiations.
If GM needs and consumers want another suv, GM will have to find a way to meet that demand–with or without the UAW.
If GM can’t meet that demand, consumers will look elsewhere–Hyundai, Kia, Toyota…none of which are encumbered by UAW demands.
If GM sources from China and Chinese quality and pricing aren’t competitive with what the Koreans offer, especially if what the Koreans offer is built at one of their non-union U.S. plants, GM and the UAW are still in trouble on this issue.
It is a new world…and long past time for these traditional labor-management squabbles to end.
Actually there is likely to always be labor-management squabbles in major U.S. companies as management is always looking to exploit their labor for maximum profit. That is the very reason why Unions came to be. If management treats their employees fairly then you don’t need a Union and they rarely develop. The Big Three have a history of exploiting workers and that is why the Unions exist. When either side obtains a dominant position one party suffers. The Unions are meant to keep a balance to the system though it does not always work out that way.
As we saw with the GM/Chrysler bankruptcies labor, retirees, stockholders, suppliers and other folks were seriously damaged financially yet few if any GM/Chrysler execs suffered substantial financial losses for their mismanagement of the companies which led to the bankruptcies…
IMO sourcing from China is a bad Biz decision that will cost most companies dearly before it’s discontinued. That’s what proper import tariffs are for to eliminate unfair business practices and adjust the selling cost to a fair level with locally produced goods. Big business is good at manipulating import duties for their benefit and at a cost to U.S. labor and the U.S. standard of living for the average person. Life for most CEOs is quite nice by comparison.
This is a perfect example of why proper import duties on goods from China would provide an “incentive” for GM to produce the product here in the U.S. for sale in North America as all major auto makers should be doing.
There could be blowback for GM if convict labor is ever materially reduced in China. That alone would tend to drive all wages higher.
I believe we will see a monumental economic shift in China before too long that will greatly impact all Western cultures and it won’t be pretty for the working class. Life will continue to be splendid for the executive level no matter what mismanagement occurs.
Go ahead and I( for one) would boycott ALL GM products. How bout them apples?
We all know that China has little quality control, take all the toys that import here, LEAD, ETC.
Plus they hate us even though we saved them in World War 2, I will never buy GM again or people I know. We need the jobs here and the money to stay here in the USA!!!!!!!
I’m open to the Chinese import but the Union should negotiate that for every unit imported one will be exported to maintain balance and not erode domestic production. that way the manufacturer has some freedom to select which market is best at making a certain vehicle type within limits. Its not economic to set up another line if you already have one overseas and just need to import a few units to fill out your product offering domestically.
Dear GM,
Have you ever wondered why China never setup factories in the US like Japan and Germany? Because China’s quality control is simply awful. Apple learned with Foxconn who built the iPhone suicide nets included. Now you want to partner with the Chinese to send the cars you already build in China back to the US. Now we’ll have cars that shut-off and explode at the same time (genius). Seriously, the only advantage you have for the moment is labor which the cost is increasing at record pace of 15 – 20% per year. Wonder how long before the wages catch American rates? I personally stopped buying GM products 10 years ago because of poor materials and workmanship. Here’s an idea quit making substandard vehicles, stand behind your American made product giving a decent income to documented Americans avoiding the shortcuts, greed and lack of vision that Wall Street promotes. Thanks GM for the memories.
Hi, William,
Not entirely invalid, but there are some Chinese plants opening here. (And note that Geely-owned Volvo will be coming to the U.S.) The quality of some Chinese-made goods has risen, in part due to efforts of foreign partners. You can be sure that if an import like a Buick Envision doesn’t score well on the quality charts it will prove the kiss of death.
Paul A. Eisenstein
Publisher, TheDetroitBureau.com