Buick for middle-aged people no longer has to rely solely on the GL8.

During the arduous process of transitioning to new energy, Buick has not only halted its decline through a series of initiatives but also delivered an unexpected performance report through the transformation in the "Joint - venture 2.0" era. In 2025, the Buick GL8 family witnessed a year - on - year increase of approximately 23.7%, becoming one of the few joint - venture brand MPVs to achieve significant growth. The Envision family in its fuel - powered SUV lineup performed even more impressively.

Buick Bucks the Trend Above 300,000 Yuan

A decade ago, Buick's annual sales in the Chinese market exceeded one million units. However, in 2024, its annual sales dropped to 360,000 units. In the same year, SAIC General Motors (including the three major brands of Buick, Cadillac, and Chevrolet) suffered a net loss of up to 26.6 billion yuan for the whole year.

In 2025, Buick delivered a rather unexpected performance report.

Data compiled by Li Yanwei, a member of the expert committee of the China Automobile Dealers Association, shows that from January to November 2025, among the sales rankings of brands with an average transaction price exceeding 300,000 yuan, Buick's high - end models ranked 10th with 57,000 units sold. Amid the overall pressure in the high - end market, its year - on - year sales soared by 92.6%, second only to Tesla and Xiangjie.

During the same period, the cumulative sales of high - end models with an average transaction price exceeding 300,000 yuan in the domestic market reached 2.09 million units, a year - on - year decrease of 10%. The sales of mainstream luxury and joint - venture brands such as Mercedes - Benz, BMW, Audi, and Toyota in this price range generally declined, but Buick became one of the few joint - venture brands to achieve significant growth.

In Buick's product matrix, high - end models with an official guide price exceeding 300,000 yuan are mainly concentrated in the fuel - powered GL8, the plug - in hybrid GL8 (new energy), the Century (fuel - powered vehicle), the Zhijing Shijia (plug - in hybrid new energy), and the Enclave (fuel - powered vehicle) - four MPVs and one SUV. Currently, the official guide price of the GL8 models on sale ranges from 199,900 yuan to 419,900 yuan, with a total of 21 models. Among them, 13 models have a guide price above 300,000 yuan. According to the data of the Passenger Car Association compiled by Yiche, the combined sales of the fuel - powered and plug - in hybrid GL8 models exceeded 112,000 units in 2025. The combined sales of the higher - end Century and Zhijing Shijia were approximately 9,800 units, while the annual sales of the Enclave contributed only about 1,000 units.

It is not difficult to see that high - end MPVs represented by the GL8 remain popular in the market above 300,000 yuan and are also Buick's trump card. Even during the trough in 2024, the annual cumulative sales of Buick's MPVs exceeded 98,000 units, not far behind the approximately 103,000 units of the Denza D9, the sales champion of the MPV market that year.

The performance of the GL8 in the Chinese market determines Buick's profitability. Its trend is also a microcosm of Buick's fate.

Before 2022, the GL8 had almost no competitors in the market and firmly held the right to define the commercial MPV market. Since then, the sales of the GL8 have been continuously declining under the siege of domestic new - energy MPVs such as the Denza D9 and the Voyah Dreamer. In 2023, the sales dropped to 110,000 units, and it lost the crown of the best - selling MPV in the market that it had held for many years. In 2024, the annual sales further declined to 87,700 units.

After the GL8 entered a difficult period, "All in" or "out" was an unavoidable question on the negotiation table between Buick's Chinese and American shareholders. Since April 2025, SAIC Group and General Motors have carried out high - frequency communication on the joint - venture agreement that will expire in June 2027.

In 2025, Buick launched a major counterattack in the new - energy MPV market. In addition to launching new and updated versions of the plug - in hybrid GL8 models, it also introduced the higher - end Zhijing Shijia. According to Yiche data, in 2025, the Buick MPV family sold 121,949 units throughout the year, accounting for nearly 30% of Buick's overall brand sales, with a year - on - year growth rate of approximately 23.7%. The sales of new - energy models skyrocketed by 152.3% year - on - year.

In Buick's overall sales structure, the best - selling models are not the GL8 but the Envision family in the fuel - powered vehicle segment. Official data shows that in 2025, the Envision family sold 164,346 units throughout the year, accounting for nearly 40% of the overall sales. Among them, the sales of the Envision Plus soared by 88.6% year - on - year. At the same time, the combined sales of the two sedans, the LaCrosse and the Regal, both fuel - powered vehicles, reached 101,542 units throughout the year, with the sales of the LaCrosse increasing by 106% year - on - year.

Overall, in 2025, Buick achieved sales of 436,729 units in the Chinese market, a 21% increase compared to 2024, bucking the trend against the backdrop of the general pressure on mainstream joint - venture brands. More importantly, SAIC General Motors achieved profitability for five consecutive quarters, winning a crucial "turnaround battle" that was a matter of life and death.

The "Fixed - Price" Model Is the Right Move

Like other joint - venture brands, Buick used to have an easy time but was suddenly hit hard by the new - energy wave. They have repeatedly tried to make changes, but the actual results have not met expectations.

Lu Xiao, the general manager of SAIC General Motors, once publicly reflected: "In 2023, we intensively launched 15 new models and released the Ultium 1.0 platform. However, for various reasons, we failed to achieve resonance between product definition and the real value for users."

After painful reflection, Buick initiated a radical transformation. On the marketing side, Buick became the first joint - venture brand to implement the "fixed - price" model. In terms of new cars and technology, after reconstructing the R & D system and product development process, it not only launched the new technology architecture "Xiaoyao" and the "Zhenlong" power system but also introduced the high - end new - energy sub - brand "Zhijing" and its first model, the Zhijing L7. Buick is trying to regain the initiative in the electrification track from price strategy, product architecture to brand upgrade.

When the latest new - energy models have not fully gained momentum, the "fixed - price" model has helped Buick gain a good market response and reputation. Although this model seemingly imitates the direct - sales price system of new - force car manufacturers, when applied in the dealer model, it actually solves a series of pain points caused by consumers' fear of overpaying. At the same time, it can maintain the stability of the price system and enhance market confidence, so Buick attaches great importance to it.

Liu Yan, the person - in - charge of a Buick dealership, said that they actually had doubts when Buick first implemented the "fixed - price" model. "After all, for a long time in the past, everyone was used to packaging the price first and then having repeated bargaining negotiations with customers. 99% of the salespeople's time was spent on negotiating the price rather than promoting the product value; even 90% of their work energy was consumed in price negotiation, and basic skills such as customer service, product knowledge, and competitor analysis were neglected."

He mentioned that in order to genuinely promote the "fixed - price" model, Buick, on the one hand, uses a reward - and - punishment mechanism and high - frequency unannounced inspections to prevent stores from offering disguised price cuts; on the other hand, it helps with traffic promotion after the policy is launched. According to him, after the fixed price was announced, the number of leads and in - store footfall increased significantly. Initially, customers were mostly on the sidelines and would visit several stores to compare prices, but they established trust after finding that the quotes from different stores were similar.

Some salespeople mentioned that if a store is found to adjust prices privately, it will be fined more than 200,000 yuan, and may even have its sales qualification and subsidies cancelled.

After Buick introduced the "fixed - price" model in 2024, the results were remarkable. During the "Golden September and Silver October" period that year, the Envision Plus adopted a "fixed - price" strategy of 169,900 yuan, and the delivery volume of this model exceeded 20,000 units within 60 days. In December alone, the sales reached 13,540 units, a year - on - year increase of up to 198.2%. Since then, Buick has extended the "fixed - price" strategy to the entire brand, including the Regal, Envision Plus, and the new all - electric E5. Since then, Buick has become the joint - venture brand with the largest number of models implementing the "fixed - price" model and the most comprehensive coverage.

Zhang Qi, a Buick car owner in Hebei, recalled that when she was choosing a LaCrosse in her local area in October 2025, she first felt the firmness of Buick's "fixed - price" policy. "I tried to bargain, but the salesperson directly refused, saying 'not even 200 yuan less'. " She admitted that under the "fixed - price" model, there was almost no room for price negotiation, and she finally picked up a 2026 - model LaCrosse Avenir in November at an on - the - road price of 192,000 yuan.

Although the car prices are unified and transparent, she also noticed that some activities launched by the manufacturer, such as the "1,000 - yuan deposit can be redeemed for 5,000 yuan" deposit inflation activity, combined with local subsidies, still result in an actual price lower than the "fixed price". In addition, the insurance cost varies slightly by region. It is about 4,000 yuan in Shijiazhuang, while it is generally over 5,000 yuan in other cities.

In the view of the above - mentioned dealer Liu Yan, for joint - venture brands still mainly relying on fuel - powered vehicles, the core purpose of the "fixed - price" model is not simply to stimulate sales but to stabilize the current market decline, rebuild dealer confidence, and at the same time, exercise the capabilities of the entire sales system to lay a solid foundation for the smooth launch of subsequent new - energy products and user trust.

Emphasize Technology and Improve Efficiency

The "fixed - price" model to preserve market share is only a temporary solution, while new technologies and products that keep up with the times are the fundamental solution.

Entering the "Joint - venture 2.0" era, not only has the R & D leadership and product definition power shifted from foreign parties to the Chinese local team, but the R & D process has also undergone a systematic reconstruction. The "Xiaoyao" super - integrated architecture and the "Zhenlong Extended - Range" power system launched by Buick are the results of localized original R & D. The success or failure of subsequent new models will re - determine Buick's position in the market.

"In fact, without the emergence of competitors, it would be very difficult for us to bring the entire R & D process of vehicle product definition, including the architecture, drive system, and intelligent features, to China for independent development." Wang Chendong, the deputy general manager of SAIC General Motors, once said.

The Xiaoyao architecture is fully self - developed by the SAIC General Motors Technical Center. The official calls it "3+3+3", which means it covers 3 body types, 3 energy sources, and 3 drive systems. This is also the first architecture among joint - venture brands to achieve such compatibility, equivalent to integrating the previous situation where multiple platforms operated independently.

It is understood that Buick previously had at least 3 architectures. One is the General Motors E2XX platform mainly used for the Regal and LaCrosse, the second is the General Motors C1XX platform exclusive to SUVs such as the Enclave, and the third is the Ultium all - electric platform for all - electric models such as the Buick E5. The new Xiaoyao architecture not only improves efficiency but also reduces the R & D cost per vehicle and shortens the development cycle.

A Buick engineer said, "Now Buick is really going all out. After many parts and systems are localized, the overall efficiency has been significantly improved, and the cycle from development to vehicle installation has been greatly shortened." But he also pointed out that compared with some domestic brands, Buick's R & D pace is still relatively conservative, and many processes still need to follow global unified standards.

For example, in order to catch up with the intelligent driving level of new - force car manufacturers, SAIC General Motors has cooperated with Momenta. During the four - year cooperative R & D period, hundreds of Momenta engineers were stationed near the SAIC General Motors headquarters. Now, Buick has begun to comprehensively deploy the one - stage end - to - end large - model L2 urban assisted driving technology, achieving "driving on any road and parking in any space".

In addition, the various technologies and parameters at the power level have almost reached the maximum with the "Zhenlong Extended - Range" power system developed under the Xiaoyao architecture. The Zhijing L7, the first model equipped with this power system, which was launched in September 2025, uses a 1.5T hybrid - specific engine and a 252kW double - sided water - cooled motor, and is equipped with a 40.2kWh Ultium battery. It has a pure - electric range of over 300 kilometers under the CLTC condition and a comprehensive fuel consumption of 0.5 liters per 100 kilometers under the WLTC condition. The official 0 - 100km/h acceleration time is 5.9 seconds when fully charged and only 6.0 seconds when the battery is low. It solves the shortcomings of many extended - range models on the market, such as short pure - electric range and significant power attenuation when the battery is low, while continuing Buick's advantages in noise reduction and battery safety. The limited - time preferential price range of 169,900 - 215,900 yuan is also