DETROIT — Buick is building a stronger bridge between its two principal markets, deploying more tailored products under familiar nameplates to better weather sales slowdowns in the U.S. and China.
The upshot for U.S. dealers: They'll get a chance to sell the Encore GX, a larger model of the popular Encore subcompact crossover, sources familiar with the plans confirmed to Automotive News.
The compact Encore GX, which debuted last week at the Shanghai auto show for the Chinese market, is expected to be sold alongside the current Encore in the U.S. starting as early as late this year, as the brand tries to make up for lost volume from the discontinued Cascada and LaCrosse cars.
Meanwhile, Buick will start offering its Chinese shoppers a smaller three-row version of the Enclave, extending the reach of Buick's other top U.S. nameplate, the sources said.
The plans align with Buick's effort to more closely integrate and align the two markets at a brand level, while retaining differences in the product portfolios, since Duncan Aldred was given global oversight of Buick in 2014.
The Encore GX model will slot between the Encore and the compact Envision, a "logical gap to fill" in one of the industry's hottest segments, according to Stephanie Brinley, principal automotive analyst at IHS Markit.
"The Encore is in that smaller B segment. Giving it a little bit more space will probably open up some additional sales," she said.
The Encore GX and Enclave will soon join a growing list of Buick nameplates that are shared by the U.S. and China markets. Current and former models include:
The Encore GX, she said, should also help Buick retain customers and add to its conquest sales, as the Encore has successfully.
The Encore has been a runaway hit for Buick since arriving in the U.S. in 2013, validating General Motors' gamble to be among the first to introduce a subcompact crossover to the U.S. and accelerating Buick's shift to a crossover-led brand.
Annual sales have nearly tripled since then to more than 93,000 Encores in 2018 — representing 47 percent of Buick's volume and outselling the model in China for the past three years. First-quarter Encore sales were down 3.4 percent to 24,606.
The vehicle got an extensive freshening for the 2017 model year, with major interior upgrades.
A redesigned Encore that was unveiled alongside the GX in Shanghai won't make it to the U.S. That vehicle will be produced and sold in China, according to the sources, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity because the plans have not been made public. It will be built on GM's new Global Emerging Market platform that's meant for markets such as China and Latin America.
It's unclear where the U.S. version of the Encore GX will be produced, but it's not expected to come from China. The Encore for the U.S., which remains on a platform developed by GM's former Opel European operations, is currently imported from South Korea, where GM has been struggling to deal with excess factory capacity.
A Buick spokesman declined to comment on the brand's product plans in the U.S. In January, Aldred told dealers that a model would be added to the Buick lineup later this year. At that time, it was unclear whether he meant a new nameplate or a version of an existing one, such as the Encore GX.
Media images of a heavily camouflaged Enclave model for China show LED headlamps and a smooth silhouette similar to its U.S. counterpart. It will be produced in China.
Buick's first-quarter U.S. sales fell 8.7 percent to 51,867 units, while sales in China dropped 17 percent to 225,313 units.
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