Buick Announces New Avenir Sub-Brand, Inspired by Avenir and Avista Concepts
The logo of Buick’s newest “sub-brand,” Avenir
The Buick Avenir concept was one of the most pleasant surprises of the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, and ever since its premiere, there has been speculation over whether it could become an actual production model. Turns out, the Avenir is coming to market, although not as a standalone car—at least, not yet.
Today Buick announced Avenir as the name of its new sub-brand, which will be “designed to grow with the needs of future luxury buyers” (“Avenir” being the French word for “future”). Avenir vehicles will join the brand’s global portfolio in the 2018 model year, with three existing models getting the Avenir treatment to begin with.
2015 Buick Avenir Concept
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So what will these top-of-the-line Buick Avenirs have that’s so special? According to Buick, the luxury cars will “add distinct touches to Buick’s timeless, sculpted designs, including a three-dimensional mesh grille, large-diameter wheels, and unique trim finishes.” The interior will also be plenty plush, with Avenir models enhancing the brand’s “quiet, inviting environment with unique seat details, modern trim materials, and Avenir script identification.”
So we’re not getting a standalone Avenir model just yet, but that’s still a possibility in the future (or, a l’avenir, as they say in France). And Buick has confirmed that designers are using the Avenir concept and the even shapelier Avista coupe concept as “guideposts.”
2016 Buick Avista Concept
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The company also says that it was encouraged to launch this new sub-brand because of Buick’s recent sales success, and particularly its success with selling top-level trims.
“Through the first half of 2016, Buick has been the industry’s fastest-growing major international brand, and Avenir is key to future growth and delivering on the high expectations of new customers coming to our showrooms,” said Duncan Aldred, the VP of Global Buick Sales, Service and Marketing. “Avenir will be Buick’s signature. The highest expression of the luxury experiences we’re delivering now and in the future.”
“Stretching the Buick brand’s international appeal and potential has been a major focus of exploration in our design studios,” added Helen Emsley, executive director of Buick Global Design. “Concept cars stretch the boundaries of what is possible and every new Buick is benefitting from this vision work. As the Avenir concept expressed the prestige vision for the portfolio, the addition of an Avenir sub-brand illustrates an important piece of future direction.”
Buick says it will announce additional Avenir details and product specifics at a later date.
Patrick Grieve was born in Southwestern Ohio and has lived there all of his life, with the exception of a few years spent getting a Creative Writing degree in Southeastern Ohio. He loves to take road trips, sometimes to places as distant as Northeastern or even Northwestern Ohio. Patrick also enjoys old movies, shopping at thrift stores, going to ballgames, writing about those things, and watching Law & Order reruns. He just watches the original series, though, none of the spin-offs. And also only the ones they made before Jerry Orbach died. Season five was really the peak, in his opinion. See more articles by Patrick.