“Badge engineering” is a term used where the carmaker basically takes a car from one of its brands, then revamps it to be sold under another brand.
French automotive site L’Automobile reports some recent patent drawings of a new, small crossover which looks remarkably like the Buick Encore with a Chevrolet grille. Note the Buick Encore (pictured) is already sold in Europe and elsewhere as the Opel Mokka (pronounced just like the chocolate beverage).
There’s very little detail on the crossover outside of the drawing. Speculation is this rebadged Buick Encore could be built for other markets like Asia or South America where other, similar, vehicles are sold and the Chevrolet brand holds sway. Arm-chair analysis dismisses GM introducing such a Chevy crossover to the U.S. market: the full-size Chevrolet Traverse and, especially, the Chevy Equinox, are strong sellers, and the Chevrolet Spark and Sonic are offered in hatchback models for buyers looking for a spacious compact. GM is unlikely to split its U.S. Chevrolet crossovers models even further with a third model.
Automotive.com’s take: Personally, we don’t see a “Chevrolet Encore” for the U.S. But what do you think? Do you want a compact crossover for Chevrolet? Or is the current selection fine? As always, let us know in the comments below.
Source: L’Automobile
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