• Buick has confirmed to Car and Driver magazine that its first North American electric SUV will be ready for the 2024 model-year.
• The model could well be the Electra E5, recently unveiled for the Chinese market.
• Buick's SUV will take advantage of General Motors' Ultium platform and likely offer a vehicle good for at least 500 all-electric km of range.
We've known for a long time that Buick is also preparing to bring all-electric SUVs to the market. In Canada, it will be the last General Motors (GM) division to offer a battery-powered model when it finally hits the road.
In recent months, we also learned that the future all-electric models will carry the Electra name. It was a no-brainer. Buick has had the name for ages, having launched a model using it in the late 1950s.
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Recently, the company registered the names Electra E1 to E9 for North America, which leaves no doubt about its intentions.
In China, a first model has just been unveiled, the Electra E5. It could very well be that we will see this model in 2023; a company spokesperson told Car and Driver that Buick will launch its first electric SUV for 2024 in North America. Neither the size of the model or any details surrounding its configurations have been revealed by Buick, but it's safe to assume that this will be the vehicle, unless the company has another one secretly in development.
One thing is certain, it will retain the styling signature of the product unveiled in China, so we have a glimpse of what's to come.
And if it's the Electra E5 that comes to us, it will be in the compact category, like the Equinox EV from Chevrolet. It will share its seats with the latter (the wheelbase is identical), as well as with almost all of GM's electric vehicles, which is the Ultium platform. This platform is very promising, especially when it comes to the announced range. Several models are showing up with a configuration that offers more than 500 miles.
Now that Buick has confirmed this, we'll be keeping a close eye on the arrival of the brand's first electric model. It could happen at any time in 2023, but it could very well be a special presentation at one of next year's auto shows, be it New York, Detroit or Los Angeles.
