GMC Looking To Add Entry-Level Compact SUV In Its Range

General Motors might add a new, entry-level SUV to the GMC range as part of the brand’s expansion plan.

The potential new GMC crossover will not be the long-rumored rival to the Jeep Wrangler, according to Duncan Aldred, head of Buick and GMC worldwide, who spoke to AutoNews.

He said that GMC doesn’t need to compete with the Wrangler, an off-roader that many challenged without success. “I don’t think it’s worth trying to take on Wrangler,” Aldred said. “But I think there’s an opportunity somewhere in that space.”

GMC’s new potential SUV would sit under the current Terrain SUV, which starts at around $26k. “To me, there is more room for SUVs in the GMC stable,” Aldred said. “An obvious place for GMC to be if it expands is that small SUV segment.”

A new small SUV could help GMC in luring younger buyers, much like the Encore has done for Buick while it would also help the company better rival Jeep, whose Compass and Renegade models are smaller in size and less expensive than the Terrain.

Buyers just love small crossovers and GMC “should have been first in the segment,” said Aldred, who started leading GMC and Buick in 2014.