Buick Announces Upscale Avenir Sub-Brand for 2018
CARS.COM — Buick will take a page from its GMC sibling and create more dressed-up versions of its vehicles under a sub-brand called Avenir, which it says will be the “highest expression of Buick luxury.” Like the fancier Denali models of GMC’s trucks and SUVs, Avenirs will feature upgraded materials and equipment, plus a little more cachet, at a higher price than the models on which they are based.
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The Avenir versions of the lineup will start rolling out globally for the 2018 model year, Buick says. They follow expansion of the lineup for 2017 with the full line of the new Envision compact SUV, as well as the rollout of a redesigned LaCrosse full-size sedan.
The new sub-brand is named after the Buick Avenir concept sedan, a well-received design concept rolled out at the 2015 North American International Auto show in Detroit that influenced the new LaCrosse. And like the GMC Denali models with their distinctive mesh grilles, Avenir models also will sport a special grille design, in this case borrowing the three-dimensional mesh used in the grille of the Buick Avista concept, a sleek coupe unveiled at the 2016 Detroit show.
Buick believes the sub-brand will lend it a more premium image and attract a wider range of luxury buyers. As for potential performance differences, spokesman Stuart Fowle said that any engineering differences will be model-dependent and will be announced later. Also coming later will be word on which model will get the treatment first; Fowle says to expect three Avenirs worldwide within the next 18 months.
Beyond the potential for capturing new customers with Avenir models, GMC has shown there can be substantial upside potential for transaction prices in the sub-brand concept. Since Denali’s beginning in 1999 as a version of the Yukon, GMC now offers Denali models of all its SUVs and the Sierra pickup truck.
The higher-priced sub-brand now accounts for about 25 percent of GMC sales and the most popular Denali remains the Yukon, with about 60 percent of the SUV’s sales, says GMC spokeswoman Jennie Ecclestone. A regular 2017 Yukon starts at $49,725 for an SLE 4×2 and runs to $61,510 to start for the top-trim SLT 4×4. By contrast, Yukon Denalis start at $67,160 for a 4×2 and $70,160 for a 4×4.
