Pictures of the 2024 Buick Electra E4 EV have surfaced via China's Ministry of Industry And Information Technology to show a slick coupe-like crossover almost identical to the Buick Electra-X concept from last year. This is just the latest model to be revealed from Buick under the new Electra sub-family of electric cars, which includes the current Buick Electra E5, and will likely be extended with the Electra GS.

The Electra E4 shown below is set to become a 2024 model, but whether it will make it to the US is another matter. Several Chinese Buick models are America-bound, as Buick has confirmed that the Envista SUV will come to the US. Buick filed a US trademark in 2022 for the Electra E4 name but has said nothing since. Electra is a perfect, if obvious, name for an electric vehicle, and being able to differentiate electric models from combustion ones like the Enclave is ideal while the brand is in a transitional state.

As we can see, comparing the Electra E4 picture above to the concept below, the concept hasn't made it note-for-note to the E4, but it has clearly influenced the new design deeply. The windscreen is raked back to close to, if not at the same, angle as the concept, while the roof profile is low and sleek. The gap between the wheel arch and the top of the fender doesn't look as thin, but it is thin. The more significant difference here is that the plastic cladding on the production model is much smaller. The sides of the production model do appear to be concave, but nowhere near to the degree of the concept to exaggerate the wheel arch flares. It looks roughly the size of the Buick Enclave crossover but with much more stylish proportions.

Given that an EV doesn't need to jump through as many hoops to get onto the road as a petrol-powered vehicle, how suitable the styling would be for any market, and that the Buick Electra nameplate is still remembered in the US, it looks from the outside like a no-brainer for Buick to bring it here. There are no pictures of the interior, but it's unlikely that it would resemble the concept and will be more straightforward.

So far, Buick's EV presence in the US is in concept form only and as a sporty coupe called the Wildcat. The Buick Electra E4 would suit Buick's current age group demographic much better, particularly as older people are more likely to remember the Electra name and lead a lifestyle that would suit an all-electric vehicle.