Today General Motors released a teaser photo of a new five-passenger crossover. The vehicle is an addition to its entry-luxury Buick line, which will be fully released in late 2010 and offer direct-injected gasoline plug-in hybrid version of engines in 2011, thus becoming the first mass produced SUV of its kind.

The teaser photo of the new Buick (the company hasn’t named the car yet) is in some way identical to Saturn Vue, which was first introduced in 2008.

With the production of the new Buick, GM intends to win over customers interested in the brand’s full-size Enclave crossover SUV who don’t need something that large. “Some customers who have been drawn to the Enclave were looking for something a little smaller, but they didn’t want to give up craftsmanship or a quiet ride to get there,” said Susan Docherty, general manager of Buick-Pontiac-GMC. “We believe this new Buick will excite those customers, and will continue to broaden the appeal of the brand.”

According to GM, the Buick crossover will be available standard with a 2.4-liter direct-injected 4-cylinder and offer an optional 3.0-liter direct-injected V6, which is expected – deliver 30 miles per gallon or more on the highway.

The company will announce more detailed information on the new Buick SUV closer to the vehicle’s launch date.