General Motors' mainstream premium brand, founded in 1899 and the company GM itself was built around in 1908. North America gets a four-model crossover range; China, which now takes most of Buick's volume, gets its own sedans, MPVs and the Electra family of new-energy cars.
The Electra E7 is a mid-size plug-in hybrid SUV built by SAIC-GM in Wuhan on the Chinese Xiao Yao platform. A 32.6 kWh pack gives 235 km of electric CLTC range and 1,630 km combined, from ¥159,900 ($23,700). From October 2026 it becomes the first Chinese-built Buick sold for export.
General Motors and SAIC have run their joint venture out to 2047 and given it a new job: at least 30 new-energy models by 2030, built in China and shipped to the Middle East, Africa, South America, Mexico and Asia-Pacific. The Buick Electra E7 goes first, in October. Chevrolet, meanwhile, stops selling in China.
In the ACSI 2026 automobile study, mass-market and luxury brands finished level at 78 points out of 100, and Toyota led the whole industry with 83. Mercedes-Benz was the best luxury brand at 81, while Cadillac fell 15% to last place on 69 and Lexus dropped 10% to 78.
The Commerce Department has denied Polestar authorization to sell its 2027 and later model-year cars in the United States, citing the Connected Vehicle Rule and Geely's controlling stake. The ban even covers the Polestar 3, which is built in South Carolina. Existing dealer stock can still be sold.
Buick is the oldest brand inside General Motors and the reason the group exists: GM was incorporated in 1908 as a holding company for Buick, then bought Oldsmobile, Cadillac and the rest around it. Founded in 1899 by David Dunbar Buick, it has spent most of the century since as GM’s mainstream premium brand, priced above Chevrolet and below Cadillac.
Its centre of gravity moved east. Buick entered China in 1998 through the SAIC-GM joint venture, and China now accounts for most of the brand’s sales. The two markets get different cars. North America has a four-model crossover range - Envista, Encore GX, Envision and Enclave - while China adds the GL8 and Century MPVs, the Regal and LaCrosse sedans, and its own Envision variants.
The Chinese new-energy range carries the Electra name, an American nameplate from 1959 reused for battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and range-extended cars built by SAIC-GM. The line runs from the E5 crossover to the Electra L7 sedan and the Electra E7, a plug-in hybrid SUV launched in April 2026 on the locally developed Xiao Yao platform.
In August 2026, GM and SAIC extended their joint venture to 2047 and named Buick and Cadillac as the badges that will carry Chinese-built new-energy cars into export markets. The Electra E7 goes first, from October 2026, to the Middle East, Africa, South America, Mexico and the Asia-Pacific. The United States is not on the list.
