We reported in September of last year, and then again in January, that landed, or on-the-ground, inventory of the Chevy Blazer crossover at Chevrolet dealerships was running at just 28 days. By the end of February, the figure had risen slightly to 31 days. Now, GM Authority has learned that supply has dropped to 19 days as of the end of March, even further than before from the 60 days considered optimal in the U.S. auto industry.
When a model spends so little time on average sitting on dealer lots between arrival and sale, it suggests that either supply is too low, demand is too high, or both. Though the Blazer is one of GM’s hottest vehicles, it recently fell from seventh- to eighth-best-selling Chevy models following the introduction of the 2021 Chevy Trailblazer. In fact, sales for the first quarter of 2021 were down 13 percent compared to the figure for the same period in 2020.
Sales Results - Q1 2021 - USA - Chevrolet
MODEL Q1 2021 / Q1 2020 Q1 2021 Q1 2020 BLAZER -13.00% 19,265 22,144 BOLT EV +53.67% 9,025 5,873 CAMARO -1.34% 7,089 7,185 COLORADO +12.38% 24,083 21,430 CORVETTE +73.06% 6,611 3,820 EQUINOX -13.93% 63,218 73,453 EXPRESS +26.81% 16,877 13,309 IMPALA -90.69% 462 4,965 LOW CAB FORWARD +10.38% 957 867 MALIBU -23.51% 26,987 35,283 SILVERADO -12.54% 126,591 144,734 SONIC -75.47% 1,065 4,341 SPARK +23.02% 11,505 9,352 SUBURBAN +17.36% 11,143 9,495 TAHOE +12.91% 23,038 20,403 TRAILBLAZER +834,033.00% 25,024 3 TRAVERSE +26.39% 38,037 30,095 TRAX -39.97% 16,955 28,242 CHEVROLET TOTAL -1.72% 427,950 435,422
The culprit for the lower sales volume as well as the lower days supply is the ongoing global semiconductor shortage. The circumstance has caused GM to extend production cuts at the Ramos Arizpe Assembly plant in Mexico, where the Blazer is made. The situation has forced GM to start parking partially assembled vehicles at the facility. Production work on these parked vehicles will be completed later this year once semiconductor chips are more broadly available.
The 2019-2021 Chevy Blazer intended for the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Colombia and Middle East markets are built at the GM Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico. This model exclusively features a two-row, five-passenger seating configuration. A slightly longer version of the Blazer is built at the GM-Cadillac Jinqiao plant in Shanghai for the Chinese market. This model is available in either a three-row, seven-seat configuration, or a two-row, five-seat setup which was officially launched in August of last year.
In North America, the Blazer is offered with a choice of three gasoline engines – the naturally aspirated 2.5L I4 LCV, rated at 193 horsepower and 188 pound-feet of torque, the turbocharged 2.0L I4 LSY, which makes 227 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, and the naturally aspirated 3.6L V6 LGX, which produces 308 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque. All three are mated to GM’s nine-speed automatic transmission.
As GM Authority exclusively revealed last month, the 2.5L I4 LCV is the least popular of these engines, perhaps partly because it is available only in conjunction with the lowest trim levels. As a result, it’s expected to be removed from the range for the 2022 model year. Other expected changes include revised content within the trim levels, new colors, and a few other minor changes and updates. A more comprehensive refresh is not expected until the 2023 model year.
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Comments
They should just shut-down and changeover to 22s now and let chips build up and less 21s with lot rot in the fall.
I have a friend in a small Chevy store. They typically stock 50 new units. Currently, they have 5 new vehicles in stock. They get 3 or 4 in and they go out as quickly as they come in. I have friends in medium size stores with inventories down 75%. Manufacturers need to rethink just in time delivery and build all semiconductors in the USA.
BETTER YET , CANADA .
VERY short-sighted of gm not to have stockpiled automotive microchips a year ago, as some other manufacturers whose CEOs actually know what they’re doing—such as Toyota—have done.
But this mindset seems to be gm’s new paradigm as it throws the baby out with the bathwater in it’s mad rush toward EVs—vehicles the US motoring public don’t want and will not buy in mass quantities until all the practical shortcomings (limited range and long recharge time) are solved. And IMO, that’s not going to happen for several years.
And in the meantime, gm’s sales of high-demand vehicles— nowhere to be found on dealership lots anywhere—continue to spiral downward as gm loses more and more market share to it’s better-managed competitors.
smh………………….
Tom, what a nice story. GM is doing great. Their EVs will be all they need to take the market in several segments. General Motors has had competition since they’ve been in existence. They aren’t worried about “better-managed competitors” that do not have the better tech and engineers they need to beat out GM.
GM has so many naysayers still to this day and it’s astonishing how many people count them out and wanna see them fail so badly. Reread the article, the Blazer that you all troll so badly is doing great. They can’t keep them on the lots. The same car you clueless birds said would flop and sit on dealer lots, remember?
Y’all continue to count GM out as of they’re just this old Corp that can’t seem to get it together again, but their sales tell another story. Their innovative technologies also tell another story.
Someone is high on delusional GM fanboy fantasy.
Wake up
Why would anyone buy this piece of crap made in Mexico anyways
They miss manage the production of the regular vehicles loosing billions, and now want the government to carry them through to the EV crap.