Buick Verano to be discontinued in Canada this fall

Buick Verano compact car will be discontinued in Canada this fall (Photo: GM)

The Buick Verano compact will be discontinued for the North American market as of October 2016, General Motors confirmed late May, though an updated version will live on in the Chinese market.

The Chevrolet Cruze-based small car, built near Detroit, will see an abbreviated 2017 model year run before being axed in favour of its Encore compact crossover-SUV sibling, reports Automotive News.

Related: 14 car models that were discontinued in 2015

But while sales of the Verano in the U.S. peaked in 2013, less than two years after its November 2011 on-sale debut, and have been falling as the Encore’s climbed, the model is actually Buick’s best-seller in Canada.

While sales were down slightly in Canada last year from a peak of 7,161 in 2014, they’ve been on the uptick in 2016; in fact, April was the model’s best month ever north of the border, with 1,125 sales, versus the Encore’s 767. However, GM, and the industry as a whole, is following market trends that point to the growing popularity of crossovers and SUVs, and re-evaluating what to do with its small car offerings.

The automaker brought a redesigned Verano to China last year, and will continue to market the car there. The Chinese market’s affinity for Buicks is credited with saving the brand from being scrapped during GM’s bailout and restructuring in 2008.