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Buick sells 3 millionth car in China... since 1999

Chris Shunk — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 15:32:00 EST

Buick GL8 - Click above for high-res image gallery

China and Buick have enjoyed a fruitful relationship since the brand's introduction there in 1999, and General Motors is now celebrating the sale of the three-millionth Buick in the country. This greatly exceeds Buick sales in the U.S. over that same period, and GM managed to move all that metal with only 400 stores across China.

Shanghai GM credits the Buick brand strategy laid out in 2008 as a reason for the impressive totals, with sales rising by more than 100,000 units per year. That approach has resulted in the introduction of several new or revised Buick models over the past few years, including the GL8 luxury MPV and the Excelle GT and XT. Hit the jump to read over GM's press release.

Gallery: Buick GL8 Van

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading Buick sells 3 millionth car in China... since 1999

Buick sells 3 millionth car in China... since 1999 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 30 Apr 2011 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM hits two million Buick sales in China

Chris Shunk — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:34:00 EST

Filed under: China, Buick, GM

2009 Buick Regal (China Spec) - click above for high-res image gallery

It took General Motors eight years to sell one million Buicks in China, but the second million came in only three. Brisk auto sales in the land of the Great Wall are part of the reason for the increase, but the General has also stepped up its product lineup with new offerings, including the Regal, LaCrosse, and Park Avenue. Shanghai GM's two-millionth Buick was a red Regal, delivered to a customer in the southern city of Guangzhou.

While those vehicles have brought some high-end class to GM Shanghai's Buick operation, they haven't come close to the success of the smaller Excelle. Shanghai GM has sold 900,000 copies of the Excelle sedan, hatch, and wagon since 2003, and sales are still going strong with 94,000 units moved in the first five months of 2009.

While Buick has struggled as a brand here in the States, the marquee has enjoyed blockbuster success in China. Buick was a smash success in China in the 1930s, as provincial presidents and emperors chose the brand over more austere offerings from the likes of Rolls-Royce and Mercedes-Benz, and it appears some of that goodwill has been projected into modern times.

Gallery: 2009 Chinese-spec Buick Regal

Continue reading GM hits two million Buick sales in China

GM hits two million Buick sales in China originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shanghai GM stumbles in '08

Alex Nunez — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:01:00 EST

Filed under: China, Buick, GM

One of the refrains we've all heard in recent years is how strong Buick is for General Motors in China, where it's not cursed with the stigma of being a grandparent's brand in the States. While most of yesterday's attention was rightly focused on the industry-wide year-end U.S. sales bloodbath, Shanghai Daily reports that 2008 was a bummer for GM's joint venture with SAIC in China.

Shanghai GM ended up down 7% versus 2007, with analysts saying that its new cars, like the freshly-updated Buick Excelle, didn't deliver the goods in terms of styling, price, or fuel economy. Hence, buyers reportedly turned to the VW Jetta and Toyota Corolla instead. Shanghai Daily points out that Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Saab all showed growth in China last year, so the overall Shanghai GM decline essentially gets laid at the feet of Buick. Now, it'll be interesting to see how 2009 plays out. GM is hoping that the Chevy Cruze can help get things back on track in the People's Republic (and everyplace else, for that matter) when it arrives sometime in Q2, joining other key Shanghai GM newcomers like the Buick Regal.

Shanghai GM's disappointing 2008 performance was part of a broader growth slowdown for the General in China. When factoring in the rest of its joint ventures, GM's China sales were actually up 6% overall. But that's a significant dropoff from the double-digit sales gains exhibited in preceding years -- 19% in '07, and at least 27% in the each of the four years prior to that, according to Bloomberg. With so many consecutive years of explosive sales growth, things were probably bound to level off as car shoppers transformed into car owners. Whether GM's influx of new models planned for this year and beyond stokes the sales fires in China again is a story that we'll follow throughout '09.

Gallery: 2009 Buick Excelle

Gallery: 2009 Chinese-spec Buick Regal

[Sources: Shanghai Daily, Bloomberg]

Shanghai GM stumbles in '08 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buick Enclave gets passport for sale in China

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:32:00 EST

Filed under: China, Plants/Manufacturing, Crossover, Buick

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Buick Enclave.

In addition to getting the coolest Buicks which are not available in America, individuals in China are about to get the best vehicle that Buick has to offer in the States. In a deal which was initially inked ten months ago, the attractive Enclave CUV, built at GM's Lansing Delta Township assembly plant, is headed for China. The U.S. assembled 'utes will make their way by means of Shanghai GM. The exportation of the Enclave to China is only surprising in that it took so long for the General to get the model there in the first place. After all, Buick sells more vehicles in China than anywhere else in the world, with the nation consuming over half of all Buicks worldwide. We can only hope that Shanghai GM returns the favor and sends some of its best designs our way... and soon.

Gallery: 2008 Buick Enclave

[Source: GM]

Continue reading Buick Enclave gets passport for sale in China

Buick Enclave gets passport for sale in China originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buick LaCrosse Hybrid debuts in China

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:58:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, China, Green, Buick, GM

Click image to enlarge

Shanghai GM today introduced the first mainstream hybrid in China's upper-medium vehicle segment: the Buick LaCrosse Eco-Hybrid. The car is part of Shanghai GM's push to earn truly worthy green credentials -- the kind that surpass Chinese requirements and meet European standards.

The LaCrosse is the first car to get the two-mode hybrid system for the Chinese market. With it the, the new car gets 28 mpg as opposed to the non-hybrid's 24. From next year until 2012, GM will offer 11 more increasingly fuel-efficient engines, including the E-Flex drive and the Fuel Cell E-Flex. For this year, Chinese customers will get new powerplants in the form of the 1.2-liter S-TEC, an HFV6 3.6-liter dual mode DI V6, and a mystery two-mode hybrid that will better its gas-powered cousin by 50-percent in fuel economy with no drop in performance.

The LaCrosse Eco-Hybrid is the first hybrid in Buick's lineup, and will use a development of the Belt Alternator Starter hybrid system akin to the Malibu Hybrid. Unlike the Malibu Hybrid, though, we won't be seeing the LaCrosse Hybrid here in the States.

Follow the jump for the full press release.

[Source: GM]

Continue reading Buick LaCrosse Hybrid debuts in China

Buick LaCrosse Hybrid debuts in China originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buick Skylark to land in China by 2009

John Neff — Thu, 24 May 2007 19:28:00 EST

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, China, Buick, Saleen

Remember the Buick Skylark? While the car certainly had its day in the pre-Reagan era, the 1980s and 90s did a lot of damage to the nameplate with models that were uninspired in every way (see above). General Motors figures the name's still good in other markets where it never sold the car, and will reportedly be introducing a new Buick Skylark in China by 2009 as a 2010 model. The new Skylark will be based on GM's Delta II platform that will underpin such vehicles as the next-gen Chevy Cobalt, Saturn Astra and Pontiac G6. The baby Buick will replace the Excelle in China, which is a version of the Daewoo Lacetti, a.k.a. the Suzuki Forenza in the U.S.

The new Skylark will be built in China by Shanghai GM, which begs the question of whether or not it will be the first vehicle GM imports from China for sale in the U.S. Who knows how well a Chinese-built Buick would be received in the States? We think the real question is how many small cars does GM need to sell? With three models already planned to utilize the Delta II platform, will a fourth bring us back to those days of regrettable badge engineering? Hopefully not, but we'll have to wait until the Delta II cars begin to break cover before we can know for sure.

[Source: Inside Line]

Buick Skylark to land in China by 2009 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 May 2007 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: New photos, first commercial for China's new Buick Park Ave

Alex Nunez — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 13:09:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, China, Buick, Misc. Auto Shows

Click image for high-res gallery

The new Buick Park Avenue was formally unveiled in Shanghai yesterday, and there's a lot of new media out in support of it. First off, clicking the image above will bring you to a high-res photo gallery of the Chinese-built Park Ave, which is based on Holden's long-wheelbase WM Stateman and Caprice. As the interior photos show, the cabin has been dressed up extensively, with tasteful use of wood on the wheel, dash and rear snack trays. As with the superb-looking Cadillac SLS, the Park Ave is geared toward the backseat passengers. The car's available engines are built at Holden's engine manufacturing facility in Victoria and shipped to China for installation. As you might have expected, Buick has called upon one Tiger Woods to star in the first television commercial for the new Park Ave. You can watch it after the jump, as well as read the latest press release.

[Source: GM]

Gallery: 2007 Buick Park Avenue (China)

Continue reading VIDEO: New photos, first commercial for China's new Buick Park Ave

VIDEO: New photos, first commercial for China's new Buick Park Ave originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Apr 2007 13:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chery Automobile Corp: #3 with a bullet

Chris Paukert — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Trends, Budget

Chery Automobile Corporation is upending the competition in its home market. The manufacturer leapfrogged a healthy three notches on China's sales ranking list in February, in the process marking the first time a domestic has pushed out a foreign joint-venture to take to the podium.

Cherry shifted 21,000 units last month (an impressive 130-percent increase year-over-year), largely on the strength of ~~GM's~~ their QQ subcompact. The latter, a bargain-priced entry isn't exactly a profit center. Xinhua reports that the automaker earns about 500 yuan profit-- about $62 USD. Still, turning a profit on small cars is a difficult business, be it in China or here in North America.

Regardless, Chery's efforts saw it take third place in overall sales during February behind Shanghai GM and Shanghai Volkswagen. It unseeded another Wolfsburg joint-venture, First Automobile Works/VW.

[Source: Xinhuanet.com]

Chery Automobile Corp: #3 with a bullet originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 04 Mar 2006 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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