Generally speaking, customers who buy a crossover do not move back to cars, Chevrolet has found.
This point was made by Steve Majoros, Chevy’s VP of Marketing, after a question from GM Authority executive editor, Alex Luft.
“Typically what you see from a market dynamic standpoint is that people are comfortable moving from a car to a crossover,” Majoros said. “Very rarely do you see someone move from a crossover back into a car.”
The decision justifies Chevy’s decision to offer more crossovers and fewer sedans. However, this could be partly explained by the fact that those purchasing a crossover have little opportunity to return to a sedan, since most Chevy sedans such as the Cruze, Volt, Impala and – most recently – the Sonic have all been discontinued, leaving the Chevy Malibu as the only remaining sedan the brand still offers in the U.S. and Canada.
But viewing the situation from that standpoint could be a confusion of cause and effect. If crossover customers habitually moved back to sedans, Chevrolet would probably decide that was still worth building them. In fact, the 2021 Chevy Trailblazer small crossover is so popular that demand is exceeding supply by four to one. It is no longer thinkable that the same levels of demand could apply to a sedan.
Majoros also emphasized that some buyers who are only now becoming able to buy a new car might have purchased a crossover previously if they had been able to afford one: “You also have a whole generation of people that are now coming of age to buying new cars, maybe they were in used cars before and have never really owned or have been in a new vehicle or a ‘real car’ as [those on the call] have grown up with.”
These are industry-wide trends not specific to Chevrolet, but Majoros states that 20 percent of former Cruze buyers are moving directly to the Chevy Trax.
“We candidly would have not been able to have the kind of market share numbers that I talked about if we did not have an effective strategy to hold on to these very valuable owners and keep them in the Chevy family,” he added.
The market share numbers Majoros is referring to is the 20 percent share of the subcompact crossover space controlled by the Trax and Trailblazer in December 2020. The figure make Chevy the best-selling purveyor of small CUVs in the United States.
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Comments
I had 2 SUVs and currently have a car. CUVs are good for families, cargo and such but a I’m not ready to go back to a bumbling vehicle..
Guestt: Like you, I now have a car (sedan) and I basically came out of an suv (or whatever the Spark is considered) and before that was an Encore. Car before that was a Jeep Patriot. Before that, a sedan. So I tend to go back and forth. I have zero issues with either, but just feel GM (and the rest) must keeps a few sedans in the portfolio.
The government will have to force GM to continue offering sedans. Unfortunately that what it will take for GM to knock off its crossover BS.
I have been with Chevy for 30 years and I like GM products. I have had cars trucks and suv,s I like a nice riding full size car now you only make one car and sad to say that I will be leaving Chevy and going another auto maker to get a full size car.
I had two GM crossovers and when the leases ended I went back to sedans as I personally couldn’t stand the driving dynamics of the crossovers. Sadly GM didn’t know that because I went elsewhere considering they barely sell any cars anymore and the Malibu doesn’t exactly excite.
We’re still in the middle of the crossover fad and hardly any cars are available anyway.
This is like saying “Disco lives forever!” in like 1978.
No cars? Like the Toyota Camry, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima? Those are the 6th, 8th, 11th, 17th, and 22nd best selling models last year.
Chevrolet wouldn’t know about any of those, now would they?
Anyway, if you could read, you wouldn’t have thought I said “no cars”.
and 4 of those used to be 1 2 3 4
Hardly any cars available? What do you call a Honda accord? What do you call a Honda Civic? What do you call a Dodge charger? What do you call a Toyota Camry, Corolla, or Yaris? Never mind I don’t think they make the Yaris anymore. What do you call a Subaru Impreza? What do you call a Subaru legacy?
I call all those cars made by other brands, and not Chevrolet.
Did you not bother reading the previous comment where he said the very same irrelevant thing you did?
Why limit one’s self to Chevrolet? My point is other people still make sedans. If you want to bring up brand loyalty, fine. I can’t get a Hudson anymore. I can’t get a Studebaker anymore. Packard? Gone. So, I moved on. So have others. Those who want sedans don’t go to Chevrolet. Why, because they don’t make them.
This is an article about Chevrolet marketing. That was my entire point about why those other brands aren’t relevant.
If I’m looking for a car, I wouldn’t limit myself to Chevrolet. That would mean I’m buying a Malibu, if they still make one.
I still don’t understand the high center of gravity thind, & how this makes for a pleasant ride. Lower riding CUVs like Stelvio or even 500X are a little better but I’d rather a Civic or Mazda 3.
I’m one of those former Chevrolet people. C
What GM is doing is forcing loyal car buyers to buy elsewhere for lack of availability. Keep ramming those SUV’S at us hoping car guys will give up. How can buyers go back to cars whenYou don’t give them a choice. How do You know they haven’t gone to other manufacturers?
The Malibu is a great car. My brother has had 3 of them.
@FRANCIS M FAHY ik right i own one
“What’s that? People have been abandoning cars for CUVs for over 20 years now? Eh, it’s just a fad. Any day now, people will want to go back to butt-dragging cars, mark my words!”
It just depends on needs and wants as well. They aren’t going back into cars, yeah their cars, because there isn’t much to choose from and are not as desirable as certain imports.
Card and sedans are too low and hard to get in and out of. These CUVs are the sedans and wagons of the past. Useful, and comfortable. Easy to see out of and sit upright.
Exactly, look at any car from before WWII. They’re all at head height. You didn’t sit “down” in them, you just sat.
Bought the wife a Terrain and after a few years I asked here did she want a car and it was no. We are on the second SUV and I asked again and she said no more cars.
The SUV suits here needs better as it is easier to haul load and still drives and rides like a car.
Our elderly parents have liked them too as they found them easier to get in and out of. I expected trouble for them but just the opposite.
We have one car yet and it is just our beater now for taking it to where we don’t care if you get damage in the big city,.
I have my truck and a sports car so I have what I want.
The fact is cars are just not user friendly anymore and people are less about style and more about Utility, As cars get smaller they just are not as versatile and people are noting this.
You used to be able to sell a car on pure style and even then the trunks were so large you could haul about anything, My 63 Galaxie was good for 6 dead bodies with room to spare. Today the body needs to be thin or it will not get though my Malibu trunks opening.
With the high cost of cars today people depend on them to be more than just status and fit their needs. If you look at most mid size SUV models they are the side of what mid to full size cars used to be.
I really don’t see the fad going away soon and only getting stronger. Even the top selling cars are now in decline.
Now I think with EV cars and interchangeable platforms could bring us cars again but in smaller but profitable numbers. That may be the only hope for many of these sedans to survive.
C8.R: Totally great points. This is why Toyota sells so many Rav4’s. Why Honda sells so many CR-V’s. Why Chevy is selling so many……….you get the point. When people above bring up Honda and Toyota and others that still sell cars, they are failing to mention the Malibu, Spark (yes, I consider it a car), CT4, CT5, Chrysler 300, and so on. And if the car market does come roaring back, Buick could have 2 or 3 sedans in short order (Chinese still love them). But yes, when older people go from a car to SUV and see how good they are, they seldom want to go back.
Oh, and about those 6 dead bodies…………………haha.
Well they said the mini van surge was a fad. Well it was not a fad and it just merged with the SUV and became a CUV.
For decades cars were only a part of the family’s income. Decades ago families bought new cars often and even high school kids could buy a Corvette with a decent job.
Today the cost of a vehicle is a major part of a families income and they are now keeping them longer than ever.
Because of this they no longer are willing to live with cars that are hard to live with. Coupes were all about style and sedans were all about contort. Today most cars are so small the coupe has a useless rear seat and sedans have no where the utility of the past vehicles.
Need to carry a large box or flat screen TV in my Malibu, well that is not happening. 6 s people again not happening. Even 5 is tough.
You buy a snow blower or lawn mower it is not going in the trunk.
What helps is most of theCUV and mid sized SUV models are really just tall cars. My Acadia rides and drives actually better than my old SSEI Bonneville.
It may not look sporty but at least it drive much better than many expect it to drive.
The bottom line is the market drive what is sold and as a car fan it hurts to see the end of so many cars.
I do see some token cars surviving due to global sales. Also I see a number of more expensive luxury cars surviving as the price permits the low volume.
I always loved coupes but even I have to admit we did the right thing going to a sedan when the car seat arrived.
Now looking back we did the right thing with the SUV as we got into soap box derby racing and I did not have a truck. The Terrain carried it well and saved me from buying a trailer I really did not want.
Now even my in-laws are now looking to a SUV now as Their 300 is no longer able to fit their needs.
When looking at this you can not be emotional. Automakers also can’t afford to be emotional. When they invest several billion into a new platform they have to seek the models with the greatest return.
If they are emotional or sentimental they will surely fail.
EV may be the only hope for a car body to be placed on a universal platform.
Well and part of the reason for the minivan dad was because there was a desire for a “roomier” car. Most pre-oil crisis cars were massive body on frame vehicles. Think of the Chevelle. It’s back seat was wide enough to stuff an 8 kid family across its bench if you ignored seat belts and it’s trunk was more or less a Colorado bed with a tonneau cover. Large tough vehicles have always been in style. Fast forward to the spark and you wonder how cars got so small!
I have pointed out here several times my father never owned a truck as his Chevelle was his truck. He hauled everything and anything in that car and on the roof. Today my Malibu roof would be destroyed.
My wife’s aunt has a e Impala. Nice car but no where the utility of the Acadia. And the Acadia rides and handles as well.
“Today the body needs to be thin or it will not get though my Malibu trunks opening.”
Spot on. The fastback rooflines on modern sedans may be good for aerodynamics and MPG, but they make rear headroom tight and they make otherwise spacious trunks difficult to pack with trunk lids the size of a mail slot.
I’m not the brightest candle, but that statement “20% of the former Cruze owners is moving into the Chevrolet CUV category” does not make gm stock holders all that happy. Overall Chevrolet brand loyalty is at 38%. Ford F-150 has the highest amount of repeat sales at 44.1% or so. Where pray tell is the other 80% of previous Cruze buyers going to?
Well, Malibu sales are down since then, but Spark sales are up. Not nearly enough to cover for the lost Cruze and Sonic sales.
The answer is other brands. The new K5 is looking pretty nice, but I think I’ll keep my 3 year old Cruze a little longer. Not driving much these days anyway.
Looking at the history of American cars, the current demand for crossovers is simply a new trend and to move back into a sedan will be difficult especially because of space efficiency and the future move to electric vehicles as once General Motors begins building and selling crossovers that are electric vehicles, it may take something dramatic before there’s another change.
I will never own a crossover because they are too small. I have always liked big cars. My second car was a 1984 Cadillac Fleetwood. I got rid of that weak 249 Cadillac engine and replaced it with a strong running 455 Buick engine along with a TH 350 transmission. That car was fun to drive and the only bad thing about it was the gas mileage. I was getting about 8 or 9 miles to the gallon on the highway. Currently, one of my vehicles is a big 1996 Ford Econoline high top conversion van with a 351W engine. I bought this van in 2004 and now it has about 470,000 miles on it. I plan to keep it for 2 more years and then I will purchase a used Chevy Express or GMC Savana high top conversion van; Econolines are getting harder to find. One of my favorite things about high top conversion vans is how the back seat folds into a sofa bed. I think one of the biggest mistakes GM made was when they switched the Regal, Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, and Cutlass to front wheel drive. Just imagine if you could stop by a Chevy dealer and buy a 2 door, rear wheel drive Monte Carlo with the same engines used in the Camaro. Also they should have kept building full size rear wheel drive land yachts like the Buick Electra and Oldsmobile 98.
and 4 of those used to be 1 2 3 4
No crossdresser for me
So what if they bring back the Trans-Sport ?(some events they did 😉)..
Ideally today’s family sedan should be around 200′ in (or Charger size). Anything larger than that should be luxury only or a truck. They’re no sales to support the Impala and Malibu, I hope IMO we’ll get a larger Malibu for a mainstream and have the Onix for a smaller sedan.
Look I get it. We’ve been buying GM vehicles for quite awhile now. Last car we have had was a Pontiac Gran Prix 20 years ago (although I was fortunate enough to own a 2004 Vette for a few years up to 2018). The rest have all been SUVs–Envoy, Acadia, Traverse, Terrain Enclave. Wife will never go back to a car again…sits too low and makes her nervous driving.
For me though as a car guy rooted in modifying cars for show and go, I just wish there were more performance variants. I like the styling on some of the newer SUV offerings, but can’t get past the lackluster turbo 4-cylinders. I guess I need to test drive before I judge too hard, and suppose I’m a bit jaded by the Vette.
I find it hilarious that someone actually claims to be the vp of marketing. If Trailblazer demand is outstripping supply 4-1 sounds like a perfect business case to build in any under utilized plant in the US.
Been through all types (2-seat sports, sedans, muscle, several SUVs, mid- and full-size pickups) over 50 years. Currently a 2014 Impala 2LT and have no plans of ever getting rid of it!
We have had a GMC Envoy, GMC Terrain and a Cadillac SRX. Guess what…we went back to a FULL-sized sedan. We currently have a 2002 Cadillac DHS with 100K miles on it, a 2020 Cadillac CT6 Premium Luxury and the toy 2001 Corvette convertible.
When we traded the cross-overs we went back to sedans. Two Olds Auroras, the DHS, a 2013 XTS and a 2016 CT6. Not everybody wants a dressed up minivan. I have been given an XT4, XT5 and XT6 as loaners when I had the CT6’s in for routine oil changes and put a couple hundred miles on them. Not for me or my wife who is short and getting in and out is a trick. We looked at an Escalade but it wouldn’t fit in the garage without some construction work.
I won’t buy a Honda, Toyota or Nissan just because of the maintenance. My neighbor has a Honda and the dealer wanted $600 for a battery and install. I went to Autozone and bought it for $100 and put it in.
Let’s get real with marketing…when all you see is SUV, pickups and CUV advertising that’s all people think is available. The other manufactures are advertising their sedans.
hey I know you are all sitting on your brains ( if you have them ) tell me what car from GM the people have to option to go back to ,here are some examples that are NOT available ,,,Impala,,Cruze , Regal, La Crosse,also how about Bonneville , grand Prix, Cutlass, 88, 98, Aurora, Rivera, le Saber, Park Ave , Boy was that funny just saying .
Sad but true. Full-size sedans have gone the way of the dinosaurs. As I said that is why I plan on keeping my 2014 Impala.
Once you go big, it’s hard to go back! All that extra room and cargo is just darn convenient. Look at how many people are buying trucks! When we hit another recession, people will go back to cheap convenient vehicles, but in the meantime why would you slouch down Into a tin can if you could avoid it?
We have a Savana van and a Camaro convertible, but our favorite vehicle is our Impala. We were sorry to see the Impala go.
With you1000%! After dang near every type (convertible, 2-doors, 4-doors, wagons, pickups, vans and SUVs) and size (sub-compact, mid and full-size) my 2014 Impala hopefully will be my last new vehicle.
This is just another cycle. Cars will be back.
When gas prices or electric costs rise people will want more efficient cars.
GM leadersheep always lag the trends.
Another GM fumble
It’s like pick up trucks. Once you get a PU truck you’re not going back but maybe a SUV.