Can you return to the glory of the two monarchs？ Analysis of Buick’s brand-new Regal

　　[News] Judging from the current China market, the sales performance of medium-sized cars is still in a relatively hot state, and this market is still an important market that major joint venture brands strive for. Therefore, in the year after the replacement, as one of the important medium-sized cars of the brand, domestic products also officially ushered in the replacement after a lapse of 9 years. The new Regal is a model that everyone pays more attention to recently, and we also know that it will be on sale in June this year. So what kind of surprise can the new Regal bring us? What will be its product positioning and competitors? Can you return to the glory of the two kings with the help of replacement? In this article, let’s take a look at it together.

● Introduction of the new Regal:

◆ Model background: It was first introduced in China in December 2002 and has gone through three generations of models.

The first generation of Regal made in China made a good start.

"The picture shows the 2006 Regal"

　　Let’s go back to 2002. On December 26th of that year, Shanghai General Motors Co., Ltd. officially unveiled a brand-new model and named it Regal. This car is the fourth generation model of overseas Regal, and it is also the first domestic landing in China market. With its atmospheric appearance, luxurious interior and several powerful power systems of 2.0L four-cylinder, 2.5L V6 and 3.0L V6, Buick Regal has won the attention of many domestic consumers and made a good start.

The second generation regal made in China builds the glory of two monarchs.

"The picture shows the 2012 Regal"

　　Six years later, on December 1st, 2008, the second-generation domestic Regal was officially put on the market. The new car was built on the universal Epsilon II global platform, shared the platform with Buick LaCrosse, and made many sports style adjustments, such as appearance and so on, which further enhanced the luxury and sportiness of Regal. In addition, after the early launch of 2.0L and 2.4L models, the domestic second-generation Regal also added 2.0T and 1.6T models in the following time, further conforming to the trend. In particular, the launch of the 2.0T Regal GS model made Regal different from the LaCrosse on the road of sports medium-sized cars, which won the love of young consumers. At that time, it successfully built a double glory with the domestic LaCrosse. (According to the sales volume, Shuangjun Group achieved sales of nearly 200,000 vehicles in 2015 and nearly 180,000 vehicles in 2010 and 2011.)

What kind of surprise will the domestic third-generation Regal bring when it comes late?

"The picture shows the new domestic Regal"

　　At present, the domestic second-generation Regal 2015 models are still on sale in China market. From the time point of view, it has been nearly nine years from 2008 to 2017. At the same time, in this era when the automobile industry is changing with each passing day, nine years is inevitably too long for Buick Regal to replace. Seeing that many competitors have successively upgraded their models and launched new cars, Regal is at a disadvantage in terms of product competitiveness and market influence, and the arrival of the domestic third-generation Regal also seems a bit late. However, after 9 years of R&D and innovation, what product highlights will Buick’s new Regal have? What kind of surprise will it bring us? Let’s continue to look down.

◆ Brand-new platform, with the latest family design.

"Domestic brand-new Regal"

"Brand-new appearance"

　　The brand-new Regal was unveiled on a small scale overseas in early April this year, and the brand-new domestic Regal also made its debut at the Shanghai Auto Show, which opened in April this year. In fact, as early as before the appearance of the new Regal, we can roughly grasp what the new Regal looks like by referring to the new British speed Asia that was unveiled at the overseas auto show. The reason is that GM has adopted different brand vehicle strategies in different regions of the world. As a global vehicle, the brand-new Regal is built on the latest E2XX globalization platform of GM (the current model is Epsilon II platform), and different brands are used for sales in different regions: Buick is labeled as a new generation of Regal in China and the United States; The Australian market will label Horton; British market labeling vauxhall; In the European market, Opel is labeled as a new generation of Insua.

　　Judging from the new car launched, the brand-new Regal adopted the brand-new design style of Buick family, and the flying wing grille shape has also become the fourth Buick model with this design after the brand-new LaCrosse and after. Compared with the current models, the new car has changed greatly. The headlight group adopts a brand-new matrix design, and the headlights are composed of 37 LED light sources. After lighting, the recognition is very high, which makes the new car look sharper and more in line with the aesthetic needs of young people. However, in terms of the same model, no one is really embarrassed to say hello to others.

　　In addition, it is worth noting that the center of the new Regal engine cover has a high-rise line design, which is in contrast with the brand-new LaCrosse listed before, which also reflects the more sporty design style of the brand-new Regal to some extent.

◆ Domestic exclusive sedan version, the wheelbase is 92mm longer than the current model.

"The picture shows the brand-new Regal made in China"

　　From the side, the new domestic Regal adopts a streamlined body design, and the lines on the side of the body are richer than those of the current models. The rising waistline runs through the front and rear door handles, and the lines behind the C-pillar are smoother, with a hint of coupe style. Sexy is also more pleasing.

"The new Regal Sportback』 unveiled overseas"

"The brand-new Regal TourX』 unveiled overseas"

　　It is also worth mentioning that, although Regal is a global model, it will only provide a version in China market, while in overseas markets, it will provide Sportback (Slipback Edition) and TourX (Cross-border Travel Edition). At present, the sedan version is still the most popular car model in China market, which also reflects Buick’s special adjustment to China consumers.

　　In terms of body size, the length, width and height of the new domestic Regal are 4902mm/1863mm/1456mm and 2829mm respectively (reaching the size of mainstream medium-sized cars), which is the same as that of overseas models. Although there is no deliberate domestic lengthening, compared with the current models, the wheelbase of the new car is increased by 92mm, the height of the car body is increased by 59mm, the width is increased by 7mm, and the height is decreased by 28mm, showing a lower visual effect as a whole. At the same time, the longer wheelbase and the length of the car body also bring better rear legroom for the new car without losing style, which we will introduce in detail below.

　　Compared with the drastic changes in the front face, the tail of the new car is still slightly low-key. The tail shape of the new car is relatively regular, with a brand-new taillight design, which is more slender, and the LED light strip is integrated inside, which echoes with the headlight group, and the lighting effect is very brilliant. At the same time, in order to highlight the sporty design, the duck tail design of the current model continues to be preserved on the new Regal, and the exhaust layout of the two sides is also derived from the current model, but it is understood that it will only be reflected in the high-profile models.

◆ The interior will adopt a brand-new design, and the sense of luxury will be significantly improved compared with the current models.

"The picture shows the overseas version of the new Regal interior"

　　As the domestic brand-new Regal unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show only showed its appearance and did not announce its interior, we will refer to overseas models to take you to know about it. Referring to the overseas version of the new Regal, the interior design of the new car has also undergone tremendous changes compared with the current model. The overall layout of the center console is more layered, with an LCD screen on the top and functional buttons and control knobs on the bottom. At the same time, a large number of wooden decorative plates are used around the shift lever, which improves the interior texture to a certain extent and is more luxurious than the current model.

◆ The configuration in the car is further enriched.

"The picture is the overseas version of the new Regal interior official map"

　　In terms of configuration, it is understood that the new car will be equipped with a 7-inch (optional 8-inch with navigation) color LCD screen as standard, and support the very popular Apple CarPlay and Android Auto interconnection functions, which has improved the update of the in-vehicle entertainment system. At the same time, the new car also changed into a brand-new three-spoke, which further optimized the display of the dashboard and improved the sports atmosphere of the whole car. In addition, it is understood that the new Regal will also be equipped with GM’s latest driver assistance system, including many technologies such as pedestrian active safety, further improving the safety of vehicle driving, and will also provide five years of free use of services. Overall, the new Regal has made great progress in interior and configuration compared with the current models, and its competitiveness has been greatly improved.

◆ The rear head space is not ideal, and the rear leg space is excellent.

"The picture shows the new space experience of Insua"

　　In terms of space experience, referring to the brand-new Insua of its prototype, the front row space of the experiencer with a height of 175mm is acceptable, while the back row head space of the experiencer is relatively cramped due to the decrease of the body height, but thanks to the increase of wheelbase and body length, the back row leg space of the experiencer performs well. Compared with the current model, the head space of the new car has not changed much, while the leg space performance has improved obviously.

◆ It is worth looking forward to providing three new power systems to match the 9-speed automatic transmission.

　　Judging from the previous application information, the new domestic Regal provides three displacement power options, namely 1.5T/2.0T turbocharged engine and 1.8L system. Among them, the maximum power of the 1.5T engine is 163 HP, and the maximum power of the brand-new 2.0T engine is 254 HP. The hybrid model shares the power system with the hybrid version, which consists of a 1.8L naturally aspirated engine and an electric motor. The maximum power of the engine is 123 horsepower. In terms of transmission, ordinary models will match GM’s latest 9-speed, while hybrid models will match the E- gearbox.

　　From the point of view of power system, the powertrain of the new Regal is more exciting than the current models. It provides a 1.5T small-displacement engine in line with the times, and the maximum power of the 2.0T model has been improved, which strengthens the market competitiveness of the 2.0T model. At the same time, the introduction of a 1.8L hybrid model instead of a 2.0L model for the first time is also expected to further optimize the problem of high fuel consumption, which consumers have complained a lot about before.

"Screenshot of some word-of-mouth of the current Regal owners"

　　In addition, the new 9-speed automatic gearbox replacing the current 6-speed automatic manual transmission is also a highlight of the new car. As we all know, the current 6-speed automatic manual transmission of Regal has always been a point that everyone spits, and the gearbox that "will think about life" is often used by everyone to ridicule. However, according to the feedback from our related colleagues after the test drive of the brand-new Insua, the 9-speed automatic gearbox matched with the brand-new Insua has a good shift performance, which is much smarter than the previous 6-speed automatic manual transmission, and the improvement is obvious, so we are also looking forward to the performance of the brand-new domestic Regal which is also equipped with the brand-new 9-speed automatic transmission.

　　All in all, the product competitiveness of the new Regal has indeed improved significantly compared with the current models. The first thing that bears the brunt is that it is expected to replace the new 9-speed gearbox, which is expected to solve the biggest criticism of the current models. Secondly, the extended wheelbase and body length have also improved the problem of insufficient leg space of the current models. In addition, the brand-new appearance, interior design, richer configuration and upgraded power system are equally tempting, which can be said to be full of SAIC-GM-Buick’s goal of returning to the glory of Shuangjun. Then, in the highly competitive joint venture brand medium-sized car market, can the brand-new Regal, which will be listed soon, once again stand out from the encirclement? What kind of market position will it have after listing? Let’s look down.