Buick coming back with younger buyers, average buyer age falls to 65

When General Motors came out of a government-scripted Chapter 11 bankruptcy it had decided to go from eight brands to four and many raised an eyebrow for one of those brands being the elderly buyers’ dream car – Buick.

Well, Buick has gone through a rebirth in the United States and has successfully drawn in younger, more affluent buyers thanks to new product offerings with more style and quality.

The main reason Buick was saved was because GM’s then Chief Executive Fritz Henderson convinced Obama’s auto task force that Buick was worth saving, particularly due to the booming Chinese market.

Buick has proven itself worthy of not getting the ax with sales last month, rising 76 percent in the United States. Most of that came from the new Buick LaCrosse, whose market share was up almost 17 percent in the large-car segment. Also, the average age of a Buick buyer has gone down from 72 several years ago to 65 and that figure is falling further. New offerings like the Buick Regal are only expected to help.

“The perception is changing — I don’t want to say it’s done yet because perception takes a period of time and consistency,” said auto analyst Erich Merkle of Autoconomy.com in Grand Rapids. “I’m seeing consistency out of Buick, but it’s going to take more time.”

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Detroit News