General Motors is expected to discontinue two of its smallest crossovers, the Buick Encore and the Chevrolet Trax. The vehicles were once among the segment’s top sellers, but have since fallen victim to their larger siblings.
A report from GM Authority citing unnamed sources said that both vehicles would be dropped after the 2022 model year. Sam Fiorani, vice president of global forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions echoed that report to Automotive News, saying that GM will end production of crossovers, which are built in South Korea, this August.
“Instead of updating the subcompact crossovers, GM went a step further and addressed the shortcomings of these popular models,” Fiorani said. “With their longer wheelbases, the Encore GX and Trailblazer sport more rear-seat room and more cargo space in a package that’s only a few inches longer.”
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Both subcompact crossovers, though once popular, have since had their toes stepped on by those slightly larger crossovers. Indeed, during the 2021 model year, the year the Trailblazer was introduced, sales of the Chevrolet Trax fell 60 percent. The Encore’s sales fell 52 percent last year following the introduction of the Encore GX.
Introduced in 2013, the two subcompacts served GM well and they combined to sell more than 100,000 units in 2019. That year, they were the second and third-best-selling vehicles in the subcompact crossover segment behind the Subaru Crosstrek.
Chevrolet did not directly confirm to us that the crossovers are on their way out but did offer this cryptic statement: “Chevrolet will continue to offer five distinct SUVs in Canada and the US going forward. Beyond that, we cannot confirm future product plans at this time.“
With GM’s plans to produce more and more electric vehicles, it’s unclear if that number accounts for the two new electric crossovers that Chevrolet has already announced.
