American Buick sales fell 42.43% in 2022. Other General Motors brands such as Cadillac, for example, saw gains as high as 13.88%. Buick sold 76,280 fewer vehicles in 2022 as compared to 2021—painting a rather dreary picture for the automaker’s future.
GM was up 3% in overall sales in 2022 despite Buick’s performance. In fact, it seems like Buick’s losses hampered what could’ve been an even more meaningful period of growth for the automaker. As previously mentioned, Cadillac was up nearly 14%. Likewise, Chevy and GMC sold 5.59% and 7.30% more vehicles than in 2021, respectively.
One thing to consider is that while Buick currently sells four different vehicles, only one is made in the United States, the Enclave. The Envision is made in China which has seen a slew of pandemic-related lockdowns and restrictions. The Encore and Encore GX are built in South Korea. The exact breakdown of losses backs up the theory that production abroad hurt the brand, which admittedly does not have a domestic focus. Sales of the Encore GX are down 53.19%. The Envision is down 44.30%. The U.S.-built Enclave, in comparison, is down a lesser 27.24%.
Most of the other GM brands have vehicles built exclusively in the United States or North America. This doubtlessly eased the supply chain pressure on these particular vehicles and their associated assembly plants. Buick was just not so lucky.
But whether or not Buick was hurt the most by supply complications is less relevant in the scope of the brand’s struggles in the United States. Buick sales have had little spikes, but ultimately they’ve been trending down since 2010. The brand’s focus is no longer on the United States, but China. That puts it in an awkward situation stateside. It still plans to unveil new models here and even to completely electrify in the near future, but with America playing second-fiddle to China, how long can it reasonably stay competitive here?
That question will likely be answered before the 2020s come to a close. But right now, it doesn’t look good.
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