The Buick Sail was the first compact car built by SAIC-GM in China. It went on sale in June 2001 for young families, and in 2005, when Chevrolet returned to China, it was renamed the Chevrolet Sail.
Buick Sail at a glance
| Maker | SAIC-GM, China |
|---|---|
| Production | 2001–2005 as a Buick |
| Bodies | four-door saloon; S-RV estate from December 2001 |
| Based on | Opel Corsa B |
| Engine | 1.6 L four-cylinder, 92 PS (68 kW) |
| Transmission | five-speed manual |
| Price | under 100,000 RMB |
| First pilot car | 12 December 2000 |
| Series production | June 2001 |
| Renamed | Chevrolet Sail in February 2005 |
The English Wikipedia article covers the car under its later Chevrolet name; this page describes only the Buick-badged years of 2001–2005. Based on one source. No free photographs of the Buick Sail were available, only of later Chevrolet versions.
History of the Buick Sail
On 12 December 2000 the first Chinese-made Buick came off the line as part of trial production, and series production began in June 2001. The Sail was the first compact car produced by the SAIC-GM joint venture and was aimed squarely at young families.
The car was based on the Opel Corsa B, and its four-door saloon body was shared with the Brazilian Chevrolet Corsa Classic and the Indian Opel Corsa Joy. That saloon shape was never sold in Europe: it was designed for developing markets. The only engine was a 1.6-litre four-cylinder of 92 PS (68 kW), driving through a five-speed manual gearbox, and the price stayed under 100,000 RMB.
In December 2001 the wagon version, the Buick Sail S-RV, was added. It was another body variation on the same Corsa B base and used the same engine. A related van, the Shanghai Saibao SAC6420, was built in small numbers by SAIC-Yizheng from 2002 to 2005 with the same 1.6 engine and a five-speed manual.
In February 2005 the Chevrolet brand returned to China, positioned as a younger brand than Buick. As part of redefining Buick’s image, the Sail became the first Shanghai GM-built Chevrolet passenger car. The revised car, coded SGM7166, had an upgraded design and a refined interior, kept both the saloon and wagon, and gained a four-speed automatic option later. Claimed top speed for manual cars was 177 km/h.
The Chevrolet Sail went on to further generations — a clean-sheet design in 2010 and a third generation shown at Guangzhou in 2014 — and was dropped in China in 2019 while production continued for export. The original Buick-badged Sail therefore marks the beginning of Shanghai GM’s small-car line rather than its end.
Design and features
- First Chinese compact Buick: the start of SAIC-GM’s small-car production.
- Corsa B base: the same architecture as the Brazilian Corsa Classic.
- Saloon and S-RV: a four-door and an estate, both with the 1.6 engine.
- Under 100,000 RMB: priced for young families.
Buick Sail versions
- Sail saloon (2001–05): the original four-door.
- Sail S-RV (from December 2001): the wagon version.
- Chevrolet Sail (from 2005): the renamed and revised car.
- Saibao SAC6420: a related van built by SAIC-Yizheng.
The Sail was Shanghai GM’s first small car, and its later Chevrolet generations sat below the Excelle in the Chinese range; the bigger GL8 came from the same joint venture. More Buicks are in the Buick collection.
Sources
- Chevrolet Sail, English Wikipedia: Buick Sail launch, engine, body styles, 2005 renaming
