Photo: Buick
Although it's basically a rebadged version of the Opel Insignia, the current generation Buick Regal might be the last one to be assembled at the General Motors Oshawa, Ontario plant. This turn of events comes after Canadian labor union Unifor officials told that GM has made no promises about the factory's future.
GM's Oshawa flexible assembly line handles a few nameplates at the present moment: the previously mentioned Buick Regal, the Chevrolet Camaro and Impala, as well as the Cadillac XTS. However, the next-generation Camaro, which was recently spotted by our carparazzi, is expected to move production from Ontario to the Lansing, Michigan plant.
Taking into account that the XTS will move production to another facility, while the Impala will move its entire production to the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, the Buick Regal would remain the only nameplate produced at the Oshawa, Ontario assembly facility and everybody knows that's not a profitable thing.
A recent report published by Automotive News cites inside sources that hinted at a new-gen Buick Regal planned for 2017, which is bang on time with the makeover of its Euro-spec sibling known as the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia. As if that wasn't enough of a hint, here comes a statement from Opel that makes this jigsaw fall into place: "The Russelsheim plant has been chosen for the assembly of a future model which will be sold in the U.S. under the Buick brand name," with production to start "in the second half of the decade."
Considering that GM's Euro factories aren't operating at full capacity, which means losses, that's all the more reason to shift assembly of the Buick Regal to Germany. An extra reason why this change is pretty plausible is that auto workers in Canada are paid a bucketload of money compared to other places around the world, including Germany, so cost cutting seems to be the name of the game here.
Taking into account that the XTS will move production to another facility, while the Impala will move its entire production to the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, the Buick Regal would remain the only nameplate produced at the Oshawa, Ontario assembly facility and everybody knows that's not a profitable thing.
A recent report published by Automotive News cites inside sources that hinted at a new-gen Buick Regal planned for 2017, which is bang on time with the makeover of its Euro-spec sibling known as the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia. As if that wasn't enough of a hint, here comes a statement from Opel that makes this jigsaw fall into place: "The Russelsheim plant has been chosen for the assembly of a future model which will be sold in the U.S. under the Buick brand name," with production to start "in the second half of the decade."
Considering that GM's Euro factories aren't operating at full capacity, which means losses, that's all the more reason to shift assembly of the Buick Regal to Germany. An extra reason why this change is pretty plausible is that auto workers in Canada are paid a bucketload of money compared to other places around the world, including Germany, so cost cutting seems to be the name of the game here.
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