General Motors plans to import its Buick Envision SUV models from China and sell them in the U.S. starting next year.
While Envision SUVs will be built in a factory in Yantai, China, GM is assuring customers that it will maintain the high quality standards set for the Buick model. It also made clear that while the cars would be assembled in China, they would all be designed, engineered and tested in Michigan.
With the current projected sales of the Buick, the company does not find it economically feasible to build the SUVs in another country. In addition, GM is also set to sell 75 percent of the products in China alone, according to GM Spokesman Patrick Morrissey, Los Angeles Times reported.
The move highlights G.M.'s strategy to maximize its global production capacity by funneling some models to markets that can absorb excess capacity, according to The New York Times.
A GM spokesman also clarified that the company did not delay on the announcement because of an ongoing negotiation with the United Auto Workers. This clarification is addressed towards the fact that the announcement came two weeks after GM's U.S. unionized plant workers approved a new labor contract, according to Reuters.
This is the first time that the largest automaker in America will import from China.
