GM is prepared to nearly halve the number of Buick models it offers in the US as it tries to reestablish the luxury brand in its home market, according to Rick Wagoner.
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GM CEO Rick Wagoner, speaking to reporters at the unveiling of the 2008 Buick Enclave, said the automaker would also reduce Buick sales to rental car companies as it shifts toward targeting more profitable retail sales with upcoming new designs.
Although Buick has offered as many as seven models in recent years, Wagoner said GM was prepared to accept lower unit sales with about four models in order to try to capture more showroom traffic and shun lower-margin sales to car rental companies, Reuters reported.
“In the end we’re going to let it flow. But what we’re going to do is to make sure we make three and then four really good [Buick models],” Wagoner told reporters.
“We’ve had a terrific run in China with Buick,” he said. “Buick sells to the upper crust in China. That’s going to open up some opportunities over time for product sharing that we wouldn’t have had or even thought of five years ago.”
GM is showing off the production version of the Buick Enclave at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
