Envision, made in China, unveiled in Detroit

The first made-in-China car for a Detroit automaker was unveiled for the global press on Sunday, a day before the North American International Auto Show opens in the Motor City, where a Chinese-owned automaker's vehicle will compete for the truck-of-the-year award.

General Motors did not wait for the auto show's opening to unveil its Buick Envision, showing the sub-compact to the press in Detroit's Eastern Market district. The Detroit News cited analysts as saying GM and Buick likely chose showing the Envison before the show opened and off-site to defray attention from the adverse reaction of the United Auto Workers union to importing the vehicle from China, the first time a Detroit automaker has done so. When Buick said last December that it would import the Envision from its plant in Yantai for sale this summer, the union called GM's decision a "slap in the face" to American taxpayers who helped save GM.

Volvo's XC90, a premium sport utility vehicle (SUV) manufactured by Volvo in Sweden, a unit of Chinese-owned Geely, will be competing for the 2016 Truck of the Year. The XC90 is up against the Honda Pilot (SUV) and Nissan Titan XD (truck). The winners of the truck- and car-of-the-year awards will be announced Monday. More than 50 automotive journalists from the US and Canada participate in the judging. The Detroit Free Press has already named the XC90 its truck of the year.

The XC90 is the first vehicle Volvo has developed since Geely purchased the company for $1.8 billion in 2010 from Ford Motor Co.

"It has become the demonstration for Volvo's latest production technology, which is impressive and important for re-establishing the brand as a global luxury player," said Stephanie Brinley, automotive analyst at consulting concern IHS.

Last year Volvo announced that it would build its first American factory in South Carolina. Volvo also began selling the China-made Volvo S60 Inscription sedan at dealerships in the US, marking the formal debut of made-in-China luxury cars in overseas markets.

As for the Envision, "reaction has been on the negative side from labor, as would be expected, but there's been little comment on it from other automakers," wrote David Zoia of Wards Auto in an e-mail to China Daily. "I would say competitors see this as the natural evolution of things: There are going to be more vehicles coming to the US from China. So they are neither surprised nor negative, because assuming success for GM, they'll look to follow the same path."

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com