Through October, sales of the Colorado were up 29 percent compared to the same period in 2015 and, this year, deliveries will surpass the 100,000 mark for the first time in a decade.
Thus, Chevrolet has every right to feel vindicated about its decision to bring back the nameplate, as it has proved naysayers wrong.
“The midsize segment was dead, you said. It would cannibalize the Silverado, you said”, GM North America president Alan Batey told journalists last week at the launch of the range-topping ZR2 in LA last week, as reported by Autonews. “I’m pleased to announce that you were wrong”.
Having improved its retail market share in both midsize and full-size pickup trucks in 2016, Batey has every right to be jubilant. Moreover, with more than 50 percent of them being conquest customers in a market that’s known for its brand loyalty is no mean feat, either.
During an event where it demonstrated the off-road capabilities of the ZR2, GM execs pointed out that, due to its more compact size, it can fit into tighter spaces more easily than the Ford Raptor.
“It’s amazing what a difference a foot of width makes off road”, Chevrolet’s exec director of performance variants, performance parts and motorsport engineering Mark Dickens commented. “The smaller size of the Colorado is a huge enabler for taking the ZR2 more places and getting through tighter spots than you would access with a full-size truck”.
Chevy is proud of the work that has gone into the most hardcore version of the Colorado and asserts it was part of its plan ever since it re-introduced the nameplate in 2014. The icing on the cake is the two vehicles that are traded in the most for it are the Toyota Tacoma, whose TRD variant is not, GM claims, as capable off road as the ZR2, and the Raptor.
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