General Motors will stop building its Buick Royaum sedans in China, and instead import them from overseas, the company said.
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The model is essentially an Australian Holden Statesman/Caprice rebadged and respecified with left hand drive and optional smaller 2.8-litre V6 engine for China. It is also sold as a top Daewoo model in South Korea.
Holden recently redesigned both the Statesman/Caprice and the Commodore on which the longer luxury models are based so the switch to imports should coincide with the model changeover in China.
Slow sales of the current model, which was launched in the mainland in March, 2005, made local production unfeasible, ShanghaiDaily.com reported.
“Sales of the Royaum make up a relatively small part of Shanghai GM’s production portfolio and importing the car will further enhance its brand image as an executive-class sedan,” an unnamed official from Shanghai GM told ShanghaiDaily.com yesterday.
The company reportedly said the move won’t change the price of the car, which currently ranges from RMB368,000 yuan to 498,000 yuan ($US46,000 to $62,250).
The Royaum is the flagship model of GM’s Buick brand in China and competes with Toyota’s Crown, and Volks-wagen’s Passat Ling Yu 2.8T.
The company sold 2,628 Royaums during the first half of this year, up 177% from the last half of 2005, according to the Union of National Passenger Car Market Information. GM has sold about 5,000 units since the model was launched.
By comparison, Toyota sold 19,554 units of its Crown model during the first half of this year. The decision to suspend production was also based on the high cost of importing components, Shanghai Daily.com noted.
Imported parts for cars that don’t meet a certain level of domestically produced components are taxed at 28% when they enter the country, about the same tariff charged on completed cars, the report added.
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