Buick Switching to Crossover-Exclusive Lineup in US After Axing Regal Models
Tragically, this also includes the Regal TourX wagon.
The Buick Regal is reportedly dead in the U.S. and sadly, that includes the Regal TourX, a car that enthusiasts clamored for in protest of the disappearance of wagons from the American market, but few actually bought.
The word comes in after Motor Authority spoke to Buick and GMC’s communications head honcho, Stuart Fowle, who said that the Regal will be discontinued after the 2020 model year. The Regal lineup joins the now-defunct LaCrosse sedan and Cascada convertible, meaning the only models left in Buick's U.S. lineup are crossovers—the Encore, Enclave, Envision, and new Encore GX.
"Buick continues to be ahead of the consumer shift toward SUVs. In fact, nearly 90 percent of Buick sales to date this year have been crossovers," Fowle told the outlet. "Although the Regal will no longer be offered in the U.S. and Canada, it will be sold in China where demand for sedans remains significant."
In 2019, the Regal’s sales dropped by 12.07 percent through the third quarter despite an overall 10 percent increase for the brand’s total year-to-date sales of 157,855 units. Of those sales, only around 8,849 of them were Regals, according to the latest quarterly report published by GM Authority.
Buick joins Ford as another American automaker who’s essentially eliminated any sort of regular cars from its future lineup to focus more on hot-selling crossover SUVs. Though while Ford openly called for the end of its car offerings here in the States, Buick’s situation was probably less intentional.
Buick’s lineup largely depended on its supply, engineering, and manufacturing support from Opel but just last year, General Motors sold its controlling stake in the foreign brand to French auto conglomerate, PSA Groupe. Because the Regal is essentially a reworked Opel Insignia, that sale likely contributed to the end of the Regal as well as the LaCrosse and Cascada, both of which are based on Opel platforms.
The new Encore GX drops its use of an Opel platform in exchange for a new base developed by GM’s Korean division, which is also shared with the 2021 Chevy Trailblazer. Although the Buick Enclave shares its Opel-based Epsilon architecture with the Chevrolet Traverse and the Cadillac XT6, GM still retains the engineering rights to that platform. The Buick Envision also retains its Opel-sourced D2XX platform and remains unaffected since it’s assembled in China.
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