The Buick brand has been around since 1899, and was among the very first automotive manufacturers that set up shop in the United States. Today, Buick is present in all three North American countries in addition to China.
One of General Motors’ four core brands, Buick is the one with the smallest North American lineup. However, sales have increased over the last few years, and that’s especially true in Canada, rising by 43.7% during the 2024 calendar year compared to 2023.
Nevertheless, Buick sells more vehicles in China thanks to its more elaborate lineup, including several distinctive models with electrified or fully electric powertrains that aren’t offered on our market. An EV was expected to arrive in North America in 2024 or 2025, but that plan has seemingly changed as the U.S. market isn’t embracing EVs as quickly as the industry was forecasting.
Buick Current Vehicle Lineup
The brand’s North American lineup consists of the Buick Envista urban crossover, the Buick Encore GX subcompact crossover, the Buick Envision compact crossover and the Buick Enclave midsize three-row crossover.
Buick History
Buick was established by David Dunbar Buick, owner of a plumbing business and inventor, who also took interest in internal combustion engines. After selling his ownership in the plumbing company, he was now ready to start a new company called Buick Auto Vim and Power Company in 1899, aiming to sell engines for the agricultural market, while the development of a motor vehicle started during that time as well.
Afterwards, the Buick Manufacturing Company was founded in 1902. After building a few cars, money ran out, but overhead-valve engine technology was developed within the company, which eventually evolved into overhead-cam engines. Both technologies are still used in internal combustion engines today. A cash injection allowed the creation of the Buick Motor Company in 1903, and later that year, William C. Durant acquired control of the business. David Dunbar Buick was bought out from his own company in 1906. In 1908, after a few years of increased production and sales, the Buick brand became a division of General Motors, which Durant had founded as a holding company. GM would go on to add the Chevrolet, Oakland (which become Pontiac), Oldsmobile and Cadillac, among many others.
The first Buick vehicle was the Model B, introduced in 1904, followed by the Model C, the Model F and the Model G, while the bigger Model D came to market in 1907. During that time, the company was located in Flint and a new factory opened its doors in 1904, which was named Buick City in the 1980s after a major renovation. The facility assembled vehicles up until 1999, and continued manufacturing parts for another few years before being sold by GM in 2010. The Buick Model 10 to Model 45 lines launched between 1908 and 1923.
The brand’s first closed car was the Buick Six, which hit the market in 1911, while the Buick Model 5 to Model 45 lines launched between 1908 and 1923.
Meanwhile, the Emperor of China grew fond of the Buick brand, and cars started being imported into the Asian country in the 1920s. It’s been a successful market for the brand ever since.
In the 1930s, Buick introduced the overhead-valve straight-eight engine and the syncromesh transmission, while the vehicle lineup included the Series 40, Series 50, Series 60, Series 80 and Series 90. In 1939, Buick became the first automaker to equip its vehicles with turn signals. Before the end of the decade, the five Series lines respectively became the Buick Special, the Buick Super, the Buick Century, the Buick Roadmaster and the Buick Limited.
What is considered the first concept car in the auto industry, the Buick Y-Job debuted in 1938 as a rolling showcase for GM chief designer Harley J. Earl, a groundbreaking one-off convertible from a styling perspective. It was also a car that Earl used as a daily driver, and GM still owns the Y-Job today as part of its Heritage Center collection.
After WWII, vehicle production restarted, and new or redesigned models were launched such as the Buick Roadmaster in 1948, the Super Riviera in 1950, the Roadmaster Skylark and Roadmaster Estate in 1953, the Buick Special in 1955, the Buick Century Riviera in 1956, the Buick Special Rivera in 1958 as well as the Buick Electra, Invicta and LeSabre in 1959. The Dynaflow automatic transmission was introduced in 1948, the signature Buick VentiPorts appeared for the first time in 1949, and the company’s first V8 engine debuted for 1953, just in time to celebrate Buick’s 50th anniversary.
The Sixties saw the introduction of more new nameplates, such as the Buick Wildcat and Buick Riviera in 1963. As the musclecar era arrived, the brand added the performance-minded Buick GS and GSX coupes and convertibles. In the Seventies, the Buick Estate became a standalone model in 1970, and several models arrived: the Centurion in 1971, the Apollo in 1973, the Skyhawk in 1975, and the Buick Regal for 1979. The Park Avenue was a trim package on the Electra 225 starting in 1975, before moving on to become its own nameplate. From 1958 to 1975, Buick dealerships sold Opel models—one of GM’s European divisions—followed by the Opel by Isuzu compact car from 1976 to 1979, as captive imports.
The 1980s saw more new models being introduced like the Buick Somerset in 1986 and the Reatta in 1988. However, the big event was the launch of the high-performance Regal Grand National, followed by the 547-unit Buick GNX run as the Grand National’s final, 1987 model year. These models are arguably the most sought-after and valuable Buicks today.
The 1990s was a quieter period for new Buick nameplate launches, but the Roadmaster returned to the market in 1991 in sedan and wagon configurations, produced until 1996. In 1998, Buick’s headquarters was transferred from Flint to Detroit and the first Chinese-built Buick was manufactured in Shanghai. A Buick LeSabre was the last vehicle to roll off the production line at Buick City in 1999.
As utility vehicles were gaining in popularity, the Buick Rendezvous crossover debuted for 2002, followed by the Buick Rainier SUV for 2004, the Buick Terraza minivan for 2005 and the Buick Enclave for 2008. The LaCrosse sedan arrived for the 2005 model year, sold as the Allure in Canada, followed by the Buick Lucerne for 2006.
The brand’s lineup shrunk to three models—LaCrosse/Allure, Lucerne and Enclave—prior to GM’s 2009 bankruptcy, and when news broke out that the automaker was about to prune the number of divisions it was managing, Buick was rumoured to be heading for the guillotine. However, GM decided to keep Buick due to its brand value and sales in China, while shutting down Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer. The Oldsmobile division was dissolved in 2004.
Under “new” GM leadership, Buick redesigned the LaCrosse, and that second-generation model was called the Allure for one model year in Canada before adopting the LaCrosse nameplate. It also debuted a new mild-hybrid four-cylinder powertrain for the brand, called eAssist. The fifth-generation Regal hit the market for 2011, built in Germany, but also in Canada at GM’ Oshawa assembly plant.
Buick launched the Verano for the 2012 model year, followed by the Buick Encore crossover a year later. The Buick Cascada convertible introduced for 2016 was a rebadged Opel, sold in the U.S. but not in Canada, while the Buick Envision introduced for 2017 was imported from China, and has been ever since. The third-generation LaCrosse arrived for 2017 as well. The sixth-generation Regal launched for 2018 in fastback and wagon body styles, though the latter wasn’t sold in Canada. Built in Germany, the Regal was the last Buick to wear a GS badge in North America. The Avenir trim level was also introduced as the most luxurious variants of the brand’s models.
Buick started phasing out its North American passenger car lineup by the end of the 2010s, discontinuing the Verano after the 2017 model year, the LaCrosse after 2019 and the Regal after 2020. Meanwhile, the second-generation Enclave arrived for 2018 while the Buick Encore GX launched as a 2020 model and the second-generation Envision for 2021.
Many Buick concept models were unveiled since the Y-Job, but one of the most significant was the Buick Wildcat EV that first appeared in 2022. It served as the design inspiration for subsequent models such as the 2024 Buick Envista, the refreshed 2024 Encore GX, the refreshed 2024 Envision and the third-generation, 2025 Buick Enclave. Those four crossovers compose the brand’s current lineup in North America.
However, over in China, a considerably different portfolio has been on offer for several years now. The Verano, the Regal and the LaCrosse are all still sold in that market, while a shorter Enclave, a longer Envision as well as the fully electric Buick Velite 6 and Buick Electra E5 are available as well. A second-generation Encore, the Encore Plus (our Encore GX), the Envista, the Velite 5 PHEV, the Velite 7 EV and a fully electric Electra E4 were also offered, but have been discontinued over time. The lineup also includes a whole family of Buick GL8 vans, the brand’s most luxurious vehicle. Buick recently unveiled a trio of concept vehicles in China as part of its relaunched Electra sub-brand that will offer a variety of electrified powertrains.