Buick Wants To Change Their Image To Be An Electric Vehicle And Not An Old People's Car

Buick wants to change its image into the car of the future. (photo: twitter @buick)

JAKARTA - Buick, the iconic American car brand owned by General Motors, announced a series of major changes meant to underscore its shift to electric vehicles.

The company says it will release its first EV for the North American market in 2024. In fact, it says it will only sell electric vehicles by the end of the decade.

Its future EV will bear the name "Electra" in reference to the company's past. It unveiled a new concept car, the Wildcat, meant to tease its electric future. It even updated its tri-shield logo, removing the circular design for a horizontal body-mounted look, to emphasize the "brand transformation."

Buick is the last of four vehicle brands owned by GM, in addition to Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac, to reveal its electrification plans.

Introducing the new #BuickWildcatEV Concept.https://t.co/C51saCEIE5 pic.twitter.com/XbRoDrkIfl

— Buick (@Buick) June 1, 2022

Earlier this year, the company teased the launch of its first EV for US car buyers, by revealing headlights that mirrored a concept car called the Electra, released by Buick a few years earlier. Now, the company is confirming that the Electra name will be at the center of the company's efforts to sell only electric vehicles by the end of the decade.

"The Buick brand is committed to an all-electric future by the end of this decade," said Duncan Aldred, Vice President of Buick, in a statement. “The new Buick logo, the use of the Electra naming series, and the new design look for our future products will change the brand.”

The Wildcat concept is meant to illustrate this shift. A sleek and elegant sports coupe with a body line meant to generate forward momentum, the Wildcat was the start of the all-electric lineup.

It also bears little resemblance to the Electra concept released by Buick two years ago. The concept is a crossover SUV with a handy scissor door.

Both the Wildcat and Electra names have been applied to Buick vehicles in the past. The Buick Wildcat was a full-size sedan produced from 1963 to 1970, while the automaker's Electra lineup had a much longer shelf life, from the mid-1950s to 1990. The Electra was also Buick's flagship sedan throughout its production.

Buick struggles with a reputation as the parent car brand in the US, but enjoys high status in China, where sales remain strong. The company is likely to use its new Ultium electric vehicle powertrain and GM battery system to power its future EV lineup.

GM has said it will spend $35 billion on electric and autonomous vehicles by 2025, with the goal of becoming a completely carbon-neutral company by 2040.