Following the release of a sketch two weeks ago, now GM has released a whole set of concept photos. We'll be eager to see the actual car in the flesh once it's revealed at Auto Shanghai, which starts tonight (Tuesday morning in China).
Buick sells three times as many vehicles in China as it does in the States, so Chinese buyers--and future buyers--are the market for this swoopy concept whose styling is based on the concepts of yin and yang, according to GM's press material.
Right now, Buick has no small crossover in the Chinese market, so this is likely a styling study for a future model. Whether its plug-in hybrid powertrain makes it into production--and if so where?--is just one of the many puzzles.
The chassis is made of carbon fiber, aluminum, and magnesium (expect a variety of high-strength steels in a production version). The forward-tilting scissor doors are undeniably cool but unlikely for a volume vehicle.
It's that hybrid powertrain that has us intrigued, though. Buick says the Envision has "GM's world-leading PHEV plug-in hybrid system." That leads us to think it's not the Voltec powertrain used in the 2011 Chevy Volt range-extended electric car, but a new iteration of the ill-fated Two-Mode Plug-In Hybrid.
Read More: http://www.greencarreports.com/blog/1058576_buick-envision-concept-plug-in-hybrid-suv-from-shanghai
Chicago Buick Dealers
