- We have our first look at the interior of the Chinese Buick Electra E5, as first reported by InsideEVs.
- The most notable feature is the huge 30-inch curved OLED display mounted on the Electra E5's dashboard.
- While the E5 is for China, Buick has confirmed the brand's first electric SUV will use the Electra name and debut in 2024.
When the 2025 Buick Electra E5 comes to America, we expect the brand's first electric SUV to have a humongous dashboard-mounted OLED screen. At least that's what it looks like based on interior images that Buick today revealed on its Chinese website, which was discovered by InsideEVs.
Big Ol' OLED Screen
Buick is entering a new era, introducing a revised tri-shield logo and fresh design language, which made their U.S. debut on the 2024 Buick Encore GX. That facelifted model also adopted a large glass panel with dual displays on its dash, setting the stage for other Buicks to do the same. While the Encore GX's screen will no doubt appease tech-obsessed shoppers, the unit found in the Chinese Electra E5 is more akin to the Cadillac Escalade's dazzling 38-inch curved OLED display.
Although it's not quite as big as the one in the Caddy, the Electra E5 features a sizable 30-inch curved OLED screen with an impressive 6K resolution; Buick says it can smoothly reflect 1 billion colors. Of course, the E5 also has 5G technology and allows over-the-air OTA updates. Other notable, albeit expected, infotainment features include wireless Apple CarPlay (and likely wireless Android Auto) as well as wireless phone charging. Buick says it has improved voice-recognition software and provides users with myriad configurable settings.
Buick Upping Its Luxury Game?
We rarely accuse Buick models of missing luxury features, rather we often observe that GM's tweener brand appears to compromise its interior quality through excessive use of also-ran materials found in mainstream alternatives.
The Electra E5 that's destined for China definitely has high-end content, such as a 12.6-inch color head-up display and ambient interior lighting with 121 color options. However, based solely on the new images we've seen, it appears Buick could be upping its game in the luxury arena.
While hard-looking plastics still remain below the E5's beltline, there appears to be upscale brightwork on the floating center console, the doors, and the dash. The other materials on the latter two surfaces also look attractive. If nothing else, the seats appear to be very comfortable, especially their "floating" headrests.
It's obviously too soon to tell how luxurious the Buick Electra E5 will be and how close the American version will be to its Chinese counterpart. Still, based on the images we've seen and the information we've learned today, the U.S.-bound Electra could help move Buick upmarket when it reaches our shores sometime in 2024—likely as a 2025 model.
Eric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual '97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a '90 Honda CRX Si.
