GM Confirms Plans to Discontinue Buick Verano in the U.S.

General Motors Co. confirms previous reports that its Orion factory outside Detroit will stop making the Buick Verano small sedan in October as the brand shifts focus to hot-selling SUV/crossover vehicles.

GM will continue the nameplate in China, where a restyled Verano was introduced last year. That car shares its platform with the redesigned Chevrolet Cruze small sedan.

The Verano got off to a good start in the U.S. when it debuted at the end of 2011, and sales peaked at 45,500 two years later. But volume fell 27% to 31,900 units in 2015 and dropped another 12% through the first four months of this year, according to Autodata Corp.

Buick has no direct crossover replacement for the Verano in the American market. But next month it will begin importing the $42,000 Envision, a midsize all-wheel-drive crossover GM has produced in China since 2014. Buick expects 70% of its U.S. sales to be crossover vehicles by the end of next year.