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Following the initiation of a 25 percent tariff by President Donald Trump on specific Chinese imports into the United States, General Motors is currently striving to secure an exemption for the Chinese-manufactured Buick Envision SUV. However, as per reports from Reuters, the company hinted last week that it may cease production of the model in America if their request is not granted.
Since the 2016 model year, the Buick Envision has been the first-ever Buick manufactured in China available for sale in the U.S. Given that China constitutes Buick’s largest market, it logically aligns for Buick to produce the Envision where the demand is higher and then export them to the U.S. Retaining its presence in the American automotive market makes strategic sense; in 2017, approximately 19 percent of all Buick sales in the U.S. were Envisions, signifying significant sales figures at stake.
The lucrative midsize luxury crossover segment is an area Buick cannot afford to abandon completely. Hence, a possibility exists for the introduction of a rebranded Chevrolet or GMC crossover, domestically manufactured to fill the gap between the Encore and the Enclave. Interestingly, discontinuing the Envision in the U.S. would be a favorable conclusion for the United Auto Workers Union, which has consistently opposed the idea of selling Chinese-produced vehicles under an American brand.
The UAW’s Vice President and GM department head, Terry Dittes, emphasized that the union advocates for products sold in the U.S.A. to be domestically manufactured. He suggested the possibility of building these 41,000 Buicks within the U.S. borders to create employment opportunities, as reported by Reuters.
Alternatively, Buick argues that relocating production of a relatively low-demand crossover from China to the U.S. may not be economically viable. Despite the Envision contributing around one-fifth of Buick’s sales, it remains the slowest-selling crossover in the brand’s lineup, overshadowed by the Enclave and the Encore, which outsold the Envision by more than double in 2017 with approximately 88,000 units sold.
If the Buick Envision ceases production, it may not be greatly missed by a large portion of the U.S. population, but it still deserves a dignified departure.
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