GL8 Century is Buick's new minivan for China
Buick unveiled a new minivan for the Chinese market last week.
Called the GL8 Century, it is a new range-topping option for Buick's minivan range in China, which already includes the GL8 Avenir, GL8 ES, and GL8 Legacy.The GL8 Century features the distinctive styling first teased in the GL8 flagship concept unveiled last year. The smooth surfaces and slit-like headlights follow the principles of Buick's current design language for the Chinese market, a language that also shaped the recent Electra-X concept. The styling of the Buick to be sold in North America is better represented by the recent Wildcat EV concept.
The GL8 Century is an imposing 206 inches long, but this car is not a competition for the number of seats. As a result, the second row has only reclining seats. These seats are wider and more comfortable than those in other GL8s, and for the first time, the headrests in the seats have built-in Bose speakers. The headliner also features a Starlight motif similar to those that can be ordered from Rolls-Royce.
Buick did not provide details on the powertrain, but other GL8 models offer a turbocharged inline-4 option.
The GL8 Century will go on sale in China later this year. It will be one of 12 new Buicks to be introduced by 2025, five of which will be electric. One of those vehicles will be the Electra, which will go on sale in North America in 2024. Buick also announced last week that it will become a full EV brand by 2030.
