Buick dropping gasoline-powered vehicles by 2030 for lineup of Electra EVs

Buick plans to stop selling gasoline-powered vehicles in North America by the end of the decade after rolling out a full lineup of electric vehicles that will revive the Electra name from its heyday.

The brand will go all-EV in roughly the same time frame as Cadillac and push General Motors closer to its goal of having all light vehicles it sells be fully electric by 2035. Buick, which also updated its logo Wednesday to signal the coming overhaul of its lineup, does not plan to launch any new internal-combustion vehicles after 2024, when its first EV is scheduled to arrive.

The character of Buick's current crossover portfolio, along with its focus on a quiet, safe ride, position the brand to succeed as the industry transitions to EVs, Duncan Aldred, global vice president of Buick-GMC, told Automotive News.

"I feel Buick is more naturally placed to really win as the adoption hastens, probably more than any other brand I can think of," Aldred said.

All of the upcoming EVs will be called Electras — a name Buick used for large sedans from 1959 to 1990 — plus an alphanumeric to differentiate the models.

Buick officials confirmed the plan after three sources told Automotive News that the brand would discontinue combustion vehicles by 2030. Dealers will sell EVs and combustion vehicles simultaneously until then.

"Sometimes people almost think it means this happens tomorrow, but clearly that's not the case. We've got a phenomenal range of vehicles in the marketplace today," Aldred said. "We're going to be playing in the emerging EV space, but also obviously in the existing combustion-engine space. We're very optimistic and aggressive about the volumes we will achieve through this period."

AutoForecast Solutions expects Buick to launch its EV lineup with an Envision-sized crossover. Buick did not provide more details about its EV rollout plan.

In 2020, Buick transitioned to an all-crossover lineup in North America, dropping the Regal sedan. Aldred doubts the crossover appeal will change with EVs but said Buick will monitor adoption rates as it plans its portfolio.

"There will probably be less entrants in some of those segments as well. From a competitive point of view, the actual opportunity could be equally as big as it is today or even bigger. While the overall market size may be less, there will be less entrants fighting for that volume," he said.

The EV transition likely will gain speed as more mass-market crossovers and SUVs go on sale, said Rob Peterson, marketing manager for Buick.

"That's exactly where Buick plays today," he said. "One of Buick's strengths is our use of technology. [It] is easy to understand. It's intuitive. It's purposeful," he said.

Buick is banking on its reputation for quiet tuning to help it excel in the EV era, when engine noise goes away. The brand has prioritized features designed to create a serene cabin and driving experience for nearly two decades, Peterson said.

"Those noises are generated by wind, wheels and engine. As you move into an electric vehicle space, you pull out the engine and replace it with something even quieter," he said.

Buick will revamp its image with more sculptural vehicle designs — as seen on the Wildcat concept EV it's unveiling Wednesday — a new logo and other aesthetic updates. The brand's emblem, which orients the classic Buick tri-shield horizontally instead of diagonally, marks the first change to the badge since 1990.

The logo will be body-mounted on the front of Buick vehicles starting next year and on the upcoming EVs. Buick's new brand image also will feature different typography, an updated color palette and a new marketing approach, the brand said in a statement.

Buick will distinguish its EVs from its combustion-engine vehicles with the Electra name, but they will share a design philosophy. The EVs will have more space inside the cabin and often a wider stance because of GM's Ultium battery architecture, Aldred said.

"The familiarity across the vehicles will be there," Aldred said. "We're not trying to create Russian dolls within our portfolio. Each vehicle will have its own distinct character, but it will have a familiarity which joins all the vehicles together."

Buick has not yet announced plans to convert its portfolio in China — the world's largest vehicle market — and other countries, to EVs. But the vehicles will carry the Electra name globally, Peterson said.

"The power of the brand comes from the consistency in the product that we offer between the two. But how you market those vehicles is unique to an American customer versus a customer in China," he said.

At the SEMA Show last year, Aldred saw a version of the 1960s-era Buick Electra that had been electrified by actor James Marsden and his team.

"That was like the final piece of the jigsaw for me. [It was] something we'd been really planning on for a long period of time," Aldred said. "But actually being in the audience for that one, it just felt so perfect."