Cars / All things automotive

Buick revives the Electra as an electric SUV in 2024

The brand is getting a makeover and will be all-EV by 2030.

This Buick Wildcat EV concept is not destined for production, but it is supposed to tell us something about how future Buick Electra EVs might look. Just squint and imagine it's an SUV.
Buick

Good news, Buick fans. Rather than suffer the fate of former General Motors brands like Pontiac, Saturn, Oldsmobile (as well as Holden, Saab, Daewoo, etc), Buick is getting a revamp as it prepares for an all-EV lineup by 2030. These new Buick EVs will sport a famous name from Buick's past as the brand revives the Electra name.

The first Buick Electra EV is due in 2024, and other than the fact that it will use GM's family of Ultium batteries and drive motors, it's not sharing too many specifics. But it has unveiled a new concept called the Wildcat EV that it says shows the brand's new body language, including a low-mounted grille, turbine-look wheels, and tick-shaped light elements at the front and rear.

"The Wildcat EV concept represents the real design future for the brand," said Global Buick and GMC Design Executive Director Sharon Gauci. "Buick has always been forward-looking and this expression is a glimpse of where we’re going, and the optimism we have for the limitless possibilities of an electric future."

Enlarge / The onboard mood-sensing AI is something we first encountered at CES a few years ago.
Buick

The interior features "cockpit seats" and an onboard AI that is designed to detect if the driver's heart rate is elevated—if so it can engage "Zen mode" by dimming the cabin lights, activating the seat massager and the EV's aromatherapy diffuser.

However, Buick is also upfront about the fact that the Wildcat concept is just that—Buick has no plans to put the 2+2 into production, and so we're in for a wait to see how successfully the concept's style is translated to a production SUV with presumably quite different proportions.

This all-EV future isn't the only change for Buick. The brand will have a new badge, all-new typography, and what it says is a new marketing approach. The new badge, which drops the ring but keeps the three shields, will debut on an internal combustion engine-powered Buick next year.

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