Traditionally, General Motors and its crosstown-rival, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, have been at the top of the mainstream subcompact crossover segment. Cumulatively speaking, the two companies have gone back and forth between the number-one and number-two sales positions for years, with GM fielding the Chevrolet Trax and Buick Encore to keep pace with competing products from FCA. Now, the latest small GM SUVs look to place The General in a commanding segment lead.
The current small GM SUV lineup continues to offer the Buick Encore and the Chevrolet Trax, while the new Chevrolet Trailblazer and Buick Encore GX are relatively new additions to the stable. Meanwhile, FCA currently offers the Jeep Compass, the Jeep Renegade, and the Fiat 500X.
As we covered previously, the four GM products currently on offer accounted for a cumulative 45,084 deliveries in Q1 of 2020, besting FCA’s cumulative 44,267 deliveries. GM’s top-spot figures are even more impressive when considering the Chevrolet Trailblazer and Buick Encore GX have yet to provide significant sales numbers, with just 2,601 deliveries for the new Encore GX, and only three deliveries for the new Trailblazer. Once these two models really kick into gear, the small GM SUV lineup should catapult General Motors ahead of FCA in the segment.
| MODEL | Q1 20 / Q1 19 | Q1 20 | Q1 19 | Q1 20 SHARE | Q1 19 SHARE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JEEP COMPASS | -20.07% | 29,820 | 37,306 | 16% | 18% |
| CHEVROLET TRAX | +14.90% | 28,242 | 24,580 | 15% | 12% |
| HONDA HR-V | -10.32% | 19,414 | 21,649 | 10% | 10% |
| HYUNDAI KONA | -17.52% | 15,174 | 18,397 | 8% | 9% |
| BUICK ENCORE | -42.14% | 14,238 | 24,606 | 8% | 12% |
| JEEP RENEGADE | -22.25% | 14,164 | 18,218 | 7% | 9% |
| NISSAN KICKS | +11.58% | 13,969 | 12,519 | 7% | 6% |
| FORD ECOSPORT | +0.34% | 12,923 | 12,879 | 7% | 6% |
| MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER SPORT | +0.96% | 12,577 | 12,457 | 7% | 6% |
| TOYOTA C-HR | -28.57% | 10,372 | 14,521 | 5% | 7% |
| MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE CROSS | -42.38% | 5,184 | 8,997 | 3% | 4% |
| KIA SELTOS | * | 5,052 | * | 3% | 0% |
| HYUNDAI VENUE | * | 3,166 | * | 2% | 0% |
| BUICK ENCORE GX | * | 2,601 | * | 1% | 0% |
| MAZDA CX-3 | -21.55% | 2,552 | 3,253 | 1% | 2% |
| FIAT 500X | -62.52% | 283 | 755 | 0% | 0% |
| CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER | * | 3 | * | 0% | 0% |
| TOTAL | -9.71% | 189,734 | 210,137 |
Naturally, there are a few factors to look at when speculating future sales numbers. The most impactful variable at the moment has to be the COVID-19 pandemic, with GM shifting production as needed to contribute towards relief efforts by producing ventilators and face masks. As such, fewer vehicles have been produced, and the industry-wide sales decline continues.
What’s more, it’s possible that the newer small GM SUVs could steal sales for the older models, in particular the new, slightly larger Encore GX with regard to the older Encore.
Either way, the latest small GM SUV lineup will continue to dominate the segment – the only question is by how much.
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View Comments
Wow, the definition of dominating is used very loosely these days.
haha that's what I was thinking. I think the Trailblazer is good enough that it should sell better than the Trax, but the Trax is bad enough that GM shouldn't keep both.
Thank you Enterprise!
You don't know that.
General Motors has a small advantage; but this means GM cannot afford not to spend whatever time and money necessary to continue improving the breed or GM risk losing this segment of the market to foreign competition like they did with the car market.