GM plans to more closely intertwine Buick and Opel brands

Buick customers in the United States and China could see more European design and engineering in an expanded range of new models by 2020, as General Motors more closely integrates global product development between Buick and GM’s German brand Opel.

GM is hoping to strengthen both brands by more closely aligning their products, a strategy that could shave development costs and time, and increase their respective product offerings in major global markets.

For American and Chinese buyers, that could mean some cool new European-bred cars for Buick, from the sporty Opel Adam hatchback to the luxurious Opel Cascada convertible.

It also means some future Buick and Opel models of the same size may not look alike, but will share more common parts under different skins. In some of those cases, notably the next-generation Opel Insignia in Europe and the redesigned Buick Regal and LaCrosse in the US and China, the basic development work will be centreed in Warren, Michigan, with final design and engineering done locally by teams in Russelsheim, Germany, and Shanghai.

Unlike the effort to transform Chevrolet and Cadillac into stand-alone global brands, GM now intends to cover global markets with a combined Buick/Opel product portfolio, with Opel-branded vehicles built and sold primarily in Europe and similar Buick models built and sold mainly in the United States and China, senior GM executives said in interviews last week at the Frankfurt Auto Show.

Reuters interviewed GM Vice Chairman Steve Girsky, Opel Chief Executive Karl-Thomas Neumann and GM Europe Engineering Vice President Michael Abelson, who described the company’s broad strategy, but declined to comment on the brands’ specific product plans.