General Motors has reportedly confirmed plans to import the Buick Envision from China to the US market.
The company had been expected to begin shipping the crossovers to the US early next year, however dealers are said to have been notified to prepare for a summer launch.
China buyers are particularly fond of the Buick marque, purchasing more than 127,000 Envisions since the model arrived on the market last fall. In the US market, not a single Buick nameplate reached even half that number for 2014. The Enclave was the best seller, with just 62,300 units.
“We have production already going (in China) and adding a second manufacturing facility for the volumes that we would expect in the U.S. just wasn’t feasible,” said Buick spokesman Stuart Fowle in a statement published by The Detroit News. “We wanted to take advantage of the manufacturing already in place.”
United Auto Workers leaders quickly criticized the move, which was announced just weeks after the union renegotiated and voted on renewed contracts with Detroit’s Big Three.
“Today’s announcement by General Motors that they are importing the Envision from China is a slap in the face to U.S. taxpayers and the men and women who worked so hard to save GM during its darkest time,” said UAW president Dennis Williams and the union’s GM head, Cindy Estrada.
The launch is likely shrouded in uncertainty, as no other US automaker has yet to import a vehicle to their home market from a factory in China. Volvo is also testing the waters with the China-built S60 sedan. Most automakers will undoubtedly be watching to see if US buyers shrug off the made-in-China stigma.
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