The critical time has come for General Motor’s Buick brand, which is struggling. With its dull image and years of declining market share, the automaker is hard at work bringing its declining brand to life.
In the coming months, Buick plans to upgrade its two sedans and launch a highly anticipated crossover sport utility vehicle. According to general manager Steve Shannon, Buick cannot afford to let those efforts fail, calling this year a watershed moment in the brand’s revival effort. “2007 is going to be the breakout year for Buick. Business is tough; we’re struggling every day,” Shannon said in an interview with the Automotive Press Association luncheon.
Buick is looking for something to help revive sales in North America, where sales have fallen more than 40 percent since 2002. Although it has flourished in the Chinese market, where GM was able to sell more Buicks than it that it did in North America, still the brand struggled in America. Two years ago, GM product czar Bob Lutz described Buick as a “damaged brand,” adding that GM would remove it from its product lineup if things with the brand don’t improve. Fortunately, Buick car components that its parent company, GM, supplies, such as GM wheel hubs, will be produced continuously, so Buick car owners need not worry.
Shannon also announced that Buick’s plans for the coming months revive the Supercar designation used on high-performance models from the 1950s. The brand also plans to upgrade the Lucerne and LaCrosse later this year.
Buick’s most promising vehicle, the Enclave crossover SUV, is scheduled to hit showrooms this summer with Tiger Woods starring in ads. And next month, GM will launch its 2008 LaCrosse at the New York Auto Show.
Saving Buick is a tall order and some wonder if GM’s strategy will really work to save its struggling brand. GM will employ a different approach with Buick than it does with Saturn, a brand bolstered by an all-out product assault in the past 18 months. GM was able to add five vehicles to the Saturn lineup, even if it means shipping a compact car to the United States from Belgium just to better compete in that market.
Regarding Buick, General Motors is continually reducing the brand’s model lineup, which will soon be reduced to just three vehicles: LaCrosse, Enclave and Lucerne. GM had previous scrap production of the Rendezvous sport utility vehicle last December and plans to stop production of the Terraza minivan and Rainier midsize sport utility vehicle in early summer as well.
Last year, Buick was able to sell about 96,000 Lucernes and 71,000 LaCrosses, both sales up slightly from 2005. The Buick dealer network is also consolidating. GM is also planning to consolidate Buick, GMC and Pontiac dealerships into one outlet that would sell all three brands.
According to Karl Bauer, editor-in-chief of Edmunds.com, an online car-buying site, “Although Buick needs as much or more attention than Saturn, it’s not achieving a complete renaissance. It’s an uphill battle and there’s a lot of baggage out there.” Bauer also added that the Enclave has potential that may not go very far to really change the image of the Buick brand.
Last Tuesday, General Motors held a Buick presentation in which one of the audience is Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis at JD Power and Associates, who came away with the impression that GM has not fully focused on creating a well-designed strategy for Buick. .
During the presentation, Hannon discussed attracting wealthy buyers while keeping Buick loyalists. The brand also aimed to appeal to a younger urban audience.