Buick was finally starting to turn it around, man. After years of being the official Old Man Car, the automaker was on a roll because of seriously compelling vehicles like the sub-$30,000 Envista, but that has all been upended by President Trump’s ill-advised tariffs against pretty much every country in the world.
The issue lies in the fact that Buick’s three most popular vehicles are made outside the U.S., and it only makes four different cars. Both the Envista and Encore GX are built in South Korea, and the Envision crossover is imported from China. The Enclave is the only car Buick builds in America. Regardless of that, the three more popular Buicks are now subject to heavy tariffs, according to Reuters. The two South Korean-made models face a 27.5% tariff and the Chinese car has to do with a 47.5% fee, a 25% auto tariff, a 20% China fentanyl tariff and a previously existing 2.5% auto tariff. Basically, this renders the Envision, which currently starts at $37,895(including destination) completely unsellable.
GM’s 450,000 imported vehicles in jeopardy
Analysts who spoke with Reuters believe that these higher prices caused by tariffs will at the very least stall any of Buick’s momentum, and it’s actually possible that the brand’s survival is threatened because of it.
“The latest wave of Buick vehicles is affordable, are good quality, are decent vehicles, and ruining that with a cost disadvantage could upset Buick as a going entity in the U.S.,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president of research firm AutoForecast Solutions.
This is all miserable news for Buick dealers, which finally had something good to sell after years of struggling to shake off the idea that what they were selling was essentially coffins. It’s not immediately clear what Buick — or General Motors — plans to do to keep the brand afloat as prices increase.
GM has already moved to increase truck output at a plant in Indiana, and it’s widely expected that it will stop importing vehicles from Korea and China because of the tariffs, Reuters reports. That accounts for about 450,000 imported vehicles. There’s no word on in GM will simply move production stateside, hope the tariffs go away on their own, or kill the models in the U.S. altogether.
Analytics firm Barclays is already cutting GM’s 2025 earnings before interesting and taxes estimates by 40% because of lower volume and a gross tariff impact of about $9.5 billion. Good Lord, GM — and especially Buick — might be in serious trouble.
