[hakfoo]

I could see them trimming down the number of brands -- too many dealers and redundant models -- in ONE national market, but that seems like it makes little sense on an international basis. You'd want to pick the brands in each individual market that are healthiest. I could see shuttering Buick US and keeping Buick CN alive, unless there's something weird about the marketing-- the Chinese market only buys Buicks because they're the same cars available in the US-- which seems unlikely (at least, I'd expect regionalization)

Considering Ford used to ship vans to the US with passenger seats, then unbolt the seats and send them back, for tax benefits, saying "we bolted a Buick logo on the ones going to China and a Pontiac one for domestic markets" is trifling in comparison.

I wonder if they'll eventually reinvent Saturn as an EV brand. Hummer has specific connotations, and those don't mesh with a consumer saying "I'm cross-shopping the Model 3, the Ioniq 6, and the Prius Prime". I figure of their classic brands, Saturn is the one that screamed "I'm innovative and a bit different from traditional GM".

[throwup238]

> the Chinese market only buys Buicks because they're the same cars available in the US-- which seems unlikely (at least, I'd expect regionalization)

It's a historical accident. Buicks were the car of choice for party members and government officials in the postwar reconstruction boom so it became the prestigious brand when GM entered the Chinese market in the 1990s via a joint venture with SAIC.