Last week, GM Authority reported that Chevrolet sedan buyers are transitioning to crossovers. Now, we have some new figures to share that add some more context to the story. Specifically, more than one fifth of Chevy Trax buyers previously owned a Chevrolet Cruze.
Head of Chevrolet, Steve Hill, explained the situation in response to a question posed by GM Authority executive editor, Alex Luft, during a recent media conference.
“What we see with Cruze, more than 20 percent of Trax sales are coming directly from Chevy Cruze, and so that’s good news for us,” Hill said, adding that it had been important to ensure the Chevy Trax would cost about as much to buy and run as had been the case with the Cruze. “What their total cost of ownership was for the Cruze fits very nicely now for what we’re able to offer them for Trax.”
Although he did not mention figures for anything other than Cruze, Hill did say that other former sedan buyers were also switching to the crossover segment. “We see equal engagement with Sonic, so we feel good about portfolio management. And as Steve [Majoros, Vice President of Marketing, Chevrolet] mentioned here at the top [of the conferece], it’s a combination of bringing new people to the franchise, but also keeping people in the franchise. We’ve done a great job at both and I think our management of these kind of discontinued car brands is testament to that.”
The Chevy Trax was by a long way the best-selling GM subcompact crossover in the U.S. during 2020. Even so, Chevrolet will be cutting production by 30 percent during the 2021 calendar year to make room to produce the all-new 2021 Chevy Trailblazer, which occupies the same general segment as the Trax but is a significantly more modern vehicle. The Trailblazer is proving to be so popular that demand, at present, is four times higher than supply.
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Comments
I think that was the plan/hope sales would go that way.
One of our daughters just traded her 2016 Cruze base for a 2020 Camaro LS. At 80k she had zero issues with her Cruze, she just wanted something more exciting. Our oldest daughter still loves her 2017 Cruze LT, with only5000 miles, so she is likely to keep it until she can trade it for an electric vehicle. Both of them have been highly satisfied with their Cruze and have, or will, return to GM because of this.
Same with me I have a 2010 Chevy Equinox LTZ V6 AND I absolutely love it it’s a great cuv it rides nice, has decent power, the interior is great nice leather and the controls all work, there is minimal rattle in the car for something that’s 11 years old, the fuel mileage is not fantastic but my wife and I test drove these model years and 4 cylinder just did not have enough power. Now my friends wife has a new 2018 Equinox and she loves it the only thing they dislike about the car is the start/stop feature but of course after they bought it a year later GM put a button in the Equinox to get rid of the start/stop feature. Would I buy Chevy or GM again? YES I WOULD 👍👍
I bought a 2017 chevy cruz at a Chevrolet dealership I feel so betrayed the sales person was telling me how great this car is knowing they were going to discontinue the cruz I still owe 13,000 never again will I buy a chevy or go to Bob Johnson.
Kim: Do you like the car? Has it been good to you? Although I agree with you on the fact that people do feel abandoned when a car they purchased gets discontinued. My entire point (other post on here) is that GM must figure out how to deal with this issue. It’s fine that they are happy with the conversion rate of Cruze to Trax, but many more feel like you do.
Don’t let the lying sales person or that dealer keep you from GM or Chevrolet. If it’s been a good car and you like it, give GM that chance. And remember, all brands discontinue models and as we speak it’s happening to cars at a much higher rate.
One of the problems with canceling a model is that you risk losing that customer to another brand. If you are able to retain that customer (buying another model within the same brand), that’s great. But what about if the new vehicle they purchase/lease also gets canceled before they trade again? In other words, what if some of these Cruze owners that got the Trax find the Trax has been discontinued? Will they stay loyal to Chevy? I would find it quite difficult to imagine anyone wanting to stay with a brand if the model they are driving is no longer available every time they come back. This is a very real issue and my understanding is that the current Trax and Encore are both looking to be gone soon. The Encore would be easier to overcome because Buick has the Encore GX and a good sales person can overcome any resistance. The Trax would be a different story though because the Trailblazer is a different name and all new.
Dan I see where your coming from but the Trailblazer has it all over the Trax it looks better, the interior is better, better gas mileage just a newer fresher design…and to be honest the only options left and more are the Corolla Civic and Mazda cx3 the Toyota and Honda don’t offer AWD in those models and the Mazda is overpriced. Yeah there is the CHR AND whatever but they are so ugly and smaller then the Trailblazer. I think Chevy should come out with El camino but electric or turbocharged.
Pat, all very true. Many of the buyers of the Trax that are coming from the Cruze tend to be more value buyers instead of people who need/want the latest and greatest out there. Same for the Sonic, Ford Focus, Fiesta and so on. I’m sure the reason many of the Cruze drivers are going into the Trax is because of the fantastic deals Chevy has been giving on them and the same can be said about the (old style) Encore. So although the new TB and Encore GX are probably years better than the old, value buyers won’t see that.
My wife will keep her 2017 Sonic until the end of it. Everything else is too much vehicle for her. We would rather have an old Chevrolet than a new import branded vehicle.
Great idea. The Sonic is a great UAW automobile and I’ll keep mine for as long as possible, which is the most fiscally responsible thing someone can do with a daily driver. The new Trailblazer is absolutely cost cutting junk, atleast the Trax had a decent little motor. The Trailblazer gets only 1-2 mpgs better with a Shanghai designed unproven lawnmower engine, backed by the worst warranty in the industry… Yet somehow GM stock is up? Sounds like a bubble is about to burst to me.
That’s a shame since all they’ve done is buy the same crappy car with a tall body. Trax still uses the ever problematic 1.4 Ecotec that the first gen Cruze had. They’ve gone from one headache to the same headache. Valve cover failures, turbo failures, water pump and cooling system failures, etc. And its not an engine here or there either. We get in 4-6 Trax and Cruze a month in for this crap.
For 2021 they are using the same engine in the 2ng gen cruze now. Its more powerful and offers better fuel economy.
The 1.4 is an excellent engine. No alternative facts please.
The LUV 1.4t is widely considered one of the most reliable modern turbos. You obviously have no idea what you’re talking about. Glad you don’t turn wrenches on my car.
As an owner of a 2011 Cruze with the 1.4 turbo, I’m disappointed to hear that. I’ve had several of the items you mentioned replaced under warranty. My impression was that they were replaced with improved parts, but perhaps not.
Knock on wood, none of those problems have re appeared….yet, and otherwise I love my Cruze Eco 6 speed manual. Over 42 mpg on the highway.
Negative things about this are the Sonic and Cruze were built in the United States and the Trax is not. And the fuel mileage for the Trax does not match what the Sonic and Cruze gave consumers.
What I say is if you don’t like the Trax or Trailblazer then go for an Equinox for a little more money it’s bigger, had a better interior, has the option of a turbo 4 cylinder, push button on/off AWD system so your not in AWD when you don’t need it like nice spring or summer days, and the new RS model in my opinion is very cool looking! Oh I forget to mention the fuel mileage is not chevy cruze great but it is good for a small to midsize CUV.
Or they could go to a Chevy Malibu, they have great deals on them. Way better car than Trax, much longer wheelbase so more cabin room, better mileage, and its built in USA.
Thanks Vick, Made in Korea not for me.
So, about 20% of Trax sales(106k in 2020) came from Cruze owners—whoop e do! Where did all the other former Cruze owners go? Escalade and Enclaves? Assume that more than 21k former Cruze owners traded!
No Tony but will buy a Hyundai because it’s built here but the money goes back to Korea!!….Hmmm
hmmm the korea man says about all the money going to china for parts
THEY went to the import brands.
I’m not surprised that it turns out this way. All according to their plan sort of, I’d think.
and how many jumped ship and bought a korean or jap. car?
A lot… GM is going to be hurting when they realize no one wants to have to pay a premium to have to charge a BEV.
I guess Ford with their Mocked-E will save the day because it isn’t GM… A few EVs that GM is selling is just that, a few EVs. You don’t have to buy one also it’s still plenty of ICE vehicles to buy. The Sonic just wasn’t needed anymore as Fit, Fiesta and Yaris was canceled too, even the Koreans are making an EV brand for themselves. Just be grateful the Spark isn’t gone if you want a sub-compact.
So eighty percent most likely left the brand.
Probably in Honda’s or kias now.
Another ‘great’ job by Mary Barry.