CHINA Buick Launches New Models As the irst GM brand introduced in China, Buick has become a very popular brand in the Chinese market, and it has been the biggest driver of GM’s success in the world’s largest car market. “he top seller in Chi-na for last year was the Buick Envision, which has a stylish exterior de-sign and super comfort-able interior. he vehi-cle provides a very strong LUO driving performance and is General Motors well equipped with comprehensive safety features,” said Brian Luo, marketing sup-port manager for GM China. Luo, who is based in Shanghai, joined General Mo-tors in 2008. “In 2016, the top ive best-selling GM vehicles in China were the Buick Envision, Buick GL8, the Chevrolet Cruze Hatch-back NB, the Wuling Sunshine, and the Wuling Hong Guang. In August 2017, Buick sales rose 9.6% to 103,277 units, an impressive number driven by sales of four key models: ● Buick’s big seller in China is the Ex-celle GT, a compact sedan mechani-cally related to the now-discontinued U.S.-market Buick Verano. GM sold over 40,000 in August 2017, up 41% from a year ago. ● he new-generation Buick GL8 is an upscale minivan made for the Chinese market. he GL8 was all-new last fall. Its sales in August 2017 were up 125% over the older model a year ago. ● he compact Buick Envision SUV hasn’t been a huge seller in the U.S., but has been well received by Chinese consumers. GM sold over 15,000 in August 2017. ● Sales of the LaCrosse sedan, anoth-er Buick that was all-new last year, al-most doubled from a year ago to about 8,100 units. GM China has introduced a wide range of new products in 2017. One new model is the Buick Velite. Another is the new Buick Regal, which was introduced on July 21, 2017. he other new model is the Buick GL8 25S. A new product from SGMW is Baojun 510. It’s a B compact SUV in Chi-na. Another model is the Baojun 310W which was introduced in July 2017. SGMW is the acronym for SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile, which is a joint ven-ture between SAIC Motor, General Motors, and Guangxi Automotive Group, which manufactures commercial and consum-er vehicles sold in China under the Wul-ing and Baojun brands. Chevrolet sales in China rose to 46,705 vehicles. he big news for Chevrolet in China is the debut of the all-new Equi-nox crossover SUV, which just began roll-ing out in the Chinese market. he Equi-nox has the potential to be a huge hit for GM in China. It’s of to a good start, with over 4,600 sold in August. he Baojun brand is GM’s answer to low-cost domestic Chinese automakers. It ofers afordable models aimed at young families. It’s a big seller, with 82,658 sold in August. Nearly 33,000 sales were of Bao-jun 510, an afordable compact SUV that had huge sales for GM in August. For years, GM’s Wuling brand sold small, inexpensive commercial vans to Chinese tradespeople. However, sales of commercial vans have declined as Chi-na’s construction boom has faded. In re-sponse, Wuling has shited to emphasize sales of passenger versions of those vans under the Hong Guang nameplate. Although sales are still recovering — Wuling sold 80,771 vehicles in August 2017 — the Hong Guang lineup sold over 34,000 units. Wuling plans to launch an aford-able SUV later in 2017 to help boost sales. Trends that will Impact Future Fleet Sales in China China is GM’s largest market in terms of retail sales for the ith consecutive year and it is an important component in the company’s global strategy. GM plans to strengthen its core busi-ness through global growth initiatives and an aggressive product launch ca-dence, while continuing to focus on driv-ing cost eiciencies. Strategically, GM is transforming it-self from a traditional automaker into a personal mobility provider. GM’s plans to capitalize on the future of personal mo-bility were summarized in a 2015 pre-sentation given by GM CEO Mary Barra. “he convergence of rapidly improv-ing technology and changing consumer preferences is creating an inlection point for the transportation industry not seen in decades,” said Barra. “Some might ind this massive change to be daunting, but we look at it and see the opportunity to be a disruptor. We believe our decades of In March 2017, GM launched a new variant of the Buick GL8 MPV in China, where it is known as the GL8 25S It is one of 18 new and refreshed models GM launched in China in 2017. The Hong Guang is a best-seller in China. GM’s Chinese partner, SAIC-Wuling, builds the Hong Guang minivan in China, which is available in four variants with a choice of two engines. At the 2017 Shanghai Auto Show, Buick debuted the Velite 5, its irst extended-range electric vehi-cle. It offers up to 768 kilometers (477 miles) in the extended mode. 6 AUTOMOTIVE FLEET I Q3 2017
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