GM to sell Buick SUV made in China in US: reports

General Motors reportedly will import its midsize sport-utility Buick Envision model from China, becoming the first US automaker to sell Chinese-made cars in the US, and analysts said doing so would fill a void in the company's Buick lineup.

The Wall Street Journal and the Detroit Free Press reported on Thursday that GM will bring the Envision to the US market. The Journal said GM expects to import between 30,000 and 40,000 vehicles. GM declined to comment on the reports.

Speculation has been building that GM's Buick brand was planning to sell the Envision, now produced at a plant in Shandong province, in the US. The Envision is considered a midsize crossover sport utility vehicle (SUV) that would be bigger than Buick's Encore subcompact and smaller than the large Enclave SUV.

David Whiston, automotive analyst at Morningstar, Inc, said that the Envision would fill an important role in Buick's US lineup. "They don't have a vehicle in that (midsize crossover) category. The Encore is too small and the Enclave is too big or too expensive for many families," he told China Daily in an interview.

"It will probably sell very well here," said Sean McAlinden vice-president for strategic studies and chief economist at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan. "This segment is now over 30 percent of the market in the US."

Volvo - a part of privately owned Chinese automaker Geely Holding Group - this year began exporting the Chinese-made S60 Inscription sedan to the US.

GM's importing the Envision could inspire Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to do import their Chinese-made models to the US, said Whiston. "A lot will depend on the political fallout and also on what happens to Chinese demand. If China's economy picks up and demand there recovers, GM may have to build the vehicle here in the US."

"Fiat Chrysler doesn't' have much capacity in China," McAlinden said in an interview. "They plan to build the Jeep Renegade in China. Ford might consider it as the Chinese (auto) market has slowed down."

"Fiat Chrysler doesn't have much capacity in China," McAlinden said in an interview. "They plan to build the Jeep Renegade in China. Ford might consider it as the Chinese (auto) market has slowed down."

Stephanie Brinley, a senior analyst with IHS, said, "Building close to where you sell is a sound strategy and expected to remain the first choice, but in some cases, the volume justification means importing is the better solution. This appears to be true in the case of Buick. "

Brinley wrote that it is conceivable that another manufacturer may make a similar decision in the future, but "GM's move is not necessarily indicative of an overall shift of auto manufacturing from North America to China".

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com