Buick's compact car, the Verano may not see an encore after the model run is up at the end of the 2017 model year according to a report on AutoNews.com.
With the addition of the Buick Envision going on sale in a few weeks, Buick see crossovers making up 70% of its sales going forward. It's not hard to see why Buick would come to that conclusion. GM sales figures for December 2015 show the Verano moving 31,886 copies for the year while the similarly priced Buick Encore sold 67,549 units.
Buick's strategy lately has been to fill "white space" in the market. Offer models that don't quite have an exact match to offerings from any other brand. When the Verano debuted in 2011, it filled such a white space being a small car with premium features like heated steering wheel, large for the time entertainment screen, and a powerful turbo option. Since that time, redesigned versions of the Chevy Cruze and Honda Civic have started offering those features and more. Canceling the Verano makes it a one-and-done model.
The writing apparently has been on the wall for the Verano for a while. In December we noticed that the Turbo model was apparently being dropped for 2017 as it no longer appears on the Verano's VIN card.
The biggest impact will be to Buick dealerships who will now have to convince 30,000 customers a year that they don't want a sedan and what they really want is a shiny new Encore or Envision.
Source: Autonews.com
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