Buick is discontinuing the Regal in the US in 2020, arguing that the majority of people prefer to own a crossover. The Aussie equivalent followed when Holden Commodore was fired. Its European cousin, the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia is used, only for both to be discontinued in 2022. Fast forward to July 2023, official images of the updated Regal have been published by China Auto Home magazine ahead of a presumably imminent local debut.
Featuring an updated tri-shield logo that was unveiled just over a year ago, the 2024 Regal gets a striking second facelift with a large trapezoidal front grille. The catfish-like grille is flanked by metallic trim pieces shaped like boomerangs to create a visual link to the daytime running lights of the revised headlamps. Since this is only a facelift, the side profile is actually carried over from the car that has been around since early 2017. At the rear, the only change we see is the revised badge.
While Buick has said goodbye to sedans in the United States, the Regal is being sold alongside the more luxurious LaCrosse in China where the big sedan recently made the switch to its next-generation model. At the other end of the lineup, the Excelle is a small budget sedan based on what was supposed to be the Opel Corsa F that GM developed before Stellantis decided to stick with the Peugeot 208 CMP underpinnings.
The Buick China lineup is quite interesting and eclectic because apart from sedans and crossovers, there are even luxury minivans. It’s called the GL8 and received the luxurious Century variant a year ago to better compete with the Lexus LM. The updated midsize sedan is expected to go official in the coming months and will probably remain on sale for at least a few more years.
In Europe, Opel has announced plans to bring back the Insignia one day, but as a pure electric vehicle. It may not be a sedan/liftback anymore as rumor has it that the folks from Russelsheim are looking to give it a swoopy SUV silhouette similar to the Citroën C5 X and Peugeot 408. It is expected to ride on the Stellantis STLA Medium platform and go on sale around the middle of the decade.
