The seemingly endless demand for crossovers continues unabated, and now, it looks like sales for the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave full-size crossovers are about to go through the roof thanks to increased production capacity.
As we covered previously, General Motors recently added more than 1,200 jobs to its Lansing Area Assembly plants, including a third shift to support production of the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave for the GM Lansing Delta Township Assembly facility. The new shift adds an extra 800 employees towards production of the two crossover models.
Once the new shift at Lansing Delta Township goes into effect in the second quarter of 2020, sales of the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave should skyrocket.
According to yearly sales figures, the Chevrolet Traverse saw 147,122 units sold in 2019, an increase of 0.40 percent compared to the 146,534 units sold in 2018. Meanwhile, the Buick Enclave sold 51,156 units in 2019, a 3.04-percent increase over the 49,647 units sold in 2018.
However, according to our sources, demand for both models has outpaced supply. Now, with a third shift added to the Lansing Delta Township production facility, sales should see a big jump after Q2 of 2020. The Lansing Delta Township facility is the only plant in the world that makes these two full-size crossover models.
To note, the Lansing Delta Township Assembly facility is the newest GM manufacturing facility in the U.S., and recently celebrated its three-millionth vehicle – a 2020 Chevrolet Traverse Premier Redline Edition in Silver Ice Metallic paint.
Additionally, GM announced that it was adding a second shift to the Lansing Grand River facility, which will support launch of the all-new Cadillac CT4 and Cadillac CT5 luxury sedans with an additional 400 employees. The Lansing Grand River Assembly facility also produces the Chevrolet Camaro.
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Comments
Be wary of equating additional production as an automatic lead in to increased sales. The demand curve can get real wonky unless of course something else changes, such as price?
GM must be forthcoming about the problems with the newly designed Traverse 9 speed transmission. As the owner of a 2018 Traverse my car is at the dealer with transmission problems. The internet is flooded with poor reviews regarding this transmission. So many negative reviews on the same transmission and vehicle is an indication of a wide problem and not isolated incidents.
So i did a search and found very little problems with it. There was few in early production which yours may have been . I have 2019 GMC TErrain with the 9 speed and it works like it should no issues.
Here is what the problem might be and dealer techs should know about it.
9T50 Shifting Problems
A common 9T50 transmission problem can occur during warm up and normal driving. If the transmission is cold, and pronounced deceleration can occur during the 1-2 upshift. This may also happen when the transmission being manually shifted from 1st to 2nd gear. When the transmission is warm, a momentary neutral may occur during the 2-4 upshift. The check engine light may also illuminate.
Cause – This issue can occur on early production 9T50 transmissions due to a undersized 9T50 spacer plate orifice between the 9T50 valve body and transmission case.
9T50 Transmission Specs
General – 9-speed automatic
Application – RWD / AWD
Production Began – 2018
I appreciate the information you provided about the transmission but these problems in a car of 40-50k are simply unacceptable. There are numerous complaints about this transmission in Edmund’s, Traverse forum, Car Complaints, NHTSA, etc. Interesting, when I sort the reviews in Edmund’s by date, the reviews are not as favorable over time. My car started showing transmission problems after 50k miles. Also, a taillight went out due to moisture. Dealer quote $700 to replace. Part of bumper has to come off to replace! This is innovation?
All cars are like this now and its expensive to replace parts. Parts are tightly intergrated for a seamless look and aerodynamics. All cars have problems and looking at forums and thinking there are a lot of issues is not true. Those are the people asking for help or concern but there are thousands more that don’t have issues so they never even go to the forums. Forums are great for questions and knowledge on issues. All cars no matter price or brand have issues. I can go to any forum and any brand and find issues. Toyota just had a major recall on fuel pumps. shows nobody is immune to issues.
That is what I thought.. Just because you can make more does not automatically translate into more demand..
GM seems to be thinking “backwards” these days.. I wish I knew how to make them understand…… LOL
What is the difference between a crossover and a SUV?
https://www.autotrader.com/car-shopping/suv-vs-crossover-whats-difference-215843
A shame they can’t flex the Grand River line to build crossovers too. Proud of my Lansing built ATS, but worried about the sedan/coupe trend tanking that assembly line.
I have always thought vehicles with a frame (Tahoe etc) were SUV. The unibody (usually front-wheel drive) were Crossover.
I think a lot of people use the terms interchangeably.
Sad they dont offer a performance version.
I have a 2018 Traverse and love it! My favorite vehicle ever. So roomy for my gardening hobby.
Even though the Japanese seats cars are no so comfortable they can make cars with the transmission that can last for 300k miles. What’s the problem with the Chevrolet transmission that you guys can’t make them work. That’s is really embarrassing, you should be ashamed of such a design and manufacturing process. Where are all those years of experience, did you through them away? What happens with six sigma, quality initiatives? Reliability is gone, my friends…
Ismael Solis, Jr.