Buick’s redesigned 2013 Enclave luxury crossover is the brand’s best-selling model in the first quarter of this year, with retail sales almost 40 percent up. According to GM, many of the new model’s buyers are former owners of the previous-generation Enclave, with statistics showing that four in 10 owners trade-in their first-generation Enclave for the new model.
Buick says the Enclave is not only building loyalty for the brand, it is also attracting first-time Buick buyers. “In previous years we’ve talked about the new, younger, luxury-minded buyers coming to Buick for the first time,” explains Tony DiSalle, vice president of Buick Marketing. “With the redesigned Enclave, we’re still seeing those new buyers, but we’re now also seeing the buyers who gave us a try with the first Enclave stay with us.”
According to the company, when the first-generation Enclave launched in 2007, customer surveys revealed that the main reasons for which buyers were choosing Buick were “value/price” and “familiarity with dealer”. However, Buick says Enclave owners consistently list things like “overall quality of the vehicle”, “ride comfort” and “overall exterior styling” as their top reasons for purchase.
According to DiSalle, “If you want a bellwether for the where the Buick brand is heading, look no further than the Enclave. It’s a very modern, very smart crossover that delivers what our luxury-minded customers want.”
Since the new model landed in dealerships in November, Enclave had its best retail sales month on record in December, with retail growth in January and February standing at 57 percent and 22 percent respectively.
By Dan Mihalascu
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