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.
Whatever type of vehicle interests you, be sure to subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevrolet news and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
At a time of year when luxury car ATP usually rises.
Sales decreased 5.6 percent to 16,670 units during the first ten months of 2024.
Specifically critical minerals supply chain development.
Scheduled for a Spring 2025 launch.
View Comments
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.