• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • Analysts Predict Declining Tesla Sales in Q3
  • Overlanding is the New Hotness
  • New Vehicle Sales Increase in September
  • Are EVs Affordable? Only if You’re a Luxury Buyer
  • Honda Takes Wraps Off New All-Electric Prologue
  • Mercedes to Offer True Self-Driving in Late 2023
  • Biden Meets UAW Picketers, Offers Support
  • Ford Halts $3.5B MI Battery Plant; Fain Slams Company
  • An Electric Acura NSX Could Be Coming
  • Jeep Culture is a Real Thing
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2024 Buick Encore GX Sport Touring AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQB 250+
    • A Week With: 2024 Mazda CX-90 Turbo S Premium Plus
    • A Week With: 2024 Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV
    • A Week With: The 2024 BMW i7 xDrive60
    • A Week With: 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale Veloce AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Toyota Camry XSE Hybrid
    • A Week With: 2024 Subaru Impreza RS
    • A Week With: 2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Desert Boss
    • First Drive: 2024 Polestar 2
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automobiles > As SUV Sales Boom Chevy Planners “Have Our Eyes on a Lot of Things”

        As SUV Sales Boom Chevy Planners “Have Our Eyes on a Lot of Things”

        Could a new Blazer be in the works?

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        Nov. 06, 2017
        SUV sales are booming at Chevy led by the Traverse High Country Edition.

        The American SUV market is showing no signs of cooling off and that has a lot of manufacturers thinking about what their product mix should look like, notably Chevrolet which is scoring big with new models like the 2018 Equinox and Traverse.

        Parent General Motors has slashed production of slower selling models, primarily passenger cars like the Spark and Impala, while boosting output at truck plants, the three Equinox lines running “24/7,” according to Chevy marketing director Steve Majoros.

        Product News!

        Chevy has been adding a range of new SUV variants, such as the Traverse High Country. But when asked if the bowtie brand might be looking at introducing some all-new models to its ute family, Majoros told TheDetroitBureau.com, “We have our eyes on a lot of things.”

        Chevy has always been a strong player in the light truck market and is just wrapping up the centennial celebration of its entry into the segment, almost by accident when a handful of workers at an old Detroit plant patched together a truck using spare parts they found lying around the factory.

        (Chevy brings the beach to SEMA with Traverse concept. To see more, Click Here.)

        Today, Chevy offers three distinct pickup lines, the high-volume full-size Silverado, the HD work truck and the Colorado. That model has ridden a new wave of demand in what had long been seen as a crumbling midsize market and despite the overall weakness of the U.S. new vehicle market, Chevy expects to score another big increase in sales of the Colorado this year.

        The strike that crimped Equinox production hasn't affected its popularity as the midsize ute continues to sell well.

        But the big boom is in the SUV market, from the little Chevy Trax crossover to the full-size, truck-based Suburban and Tahoe models.

        In-between, Chevy’s factories can barely keep up with demand for two new 2018 models. The new Traverse, for one, has barely a 15-day supply on dealer lots in an industry where 60 to 70 is generally considered the norm. Equally important, the 2018 Traverse is now offered with new high-line packages like the High Country that starts at nearly $53,000. On the whole, the typical customer is now spending $3,174 more for an ’18 Traverse than a year earlier.

        With the Equinox, the good news is that the compact SUV is in equally short supply. The bad news is that a month-long strike at one of three plants, this one in Ontario, has left Chevy scrambling to rebuild inventory, all three assembly lines operating 24/7, according to Majoros.

        For the industry, as a whole, light trucks now account for nearly two-thirds of new vehicle sales. That’s leading many manufacturers to trim production of their passenger car models and even drop some slow-sellers. GM has reportedly been weighing the fate of at least a half-dozen.

        Chevy truck sales are booming too and that's expected to help the Colorado for the near term.

        (Click Here for a review of the new, three-row 2018 Chevrolet Traverse.)

        While he wouldn’t discuss specific plans, Majoros said that, “On the passenger car side we’ve seen the worst of the downsizing” of the segment, and are likely to see the growth of the light truck market begin to level off.

        While production of passenger car models is being “right-sized,” the marketing chief said, the question is how to take full advantage of today’s truck-heavy market. Part of the approach is to add more variants, such as the high-line Traverse High Country SUV and the off-road capable Colorado ZR2 midsize pickup.

        But it may also require filling in some white space, Majoros and his boss, Chevrolet Vice President Brian Sweeney, acknowledged. Along with the Colorado, a critical addition to the line-up came with the 2015 model-year launch of the subcompact Trax crossover which has helped retain buyers who were looking to move out of Chevy’s small sedans, coupes and hatchbacks.

        Chevy is by no means the only automaker expanding its truck line-up and, in particular, its SUV family. Luxury makers, in particular, have been racing to fill every possible niche with the likes of the X2 it unveiled last month.

        (Chevy has big plans for bigger Traverse. For the story, Click Here.)

        As to what they’re looking at, Chevy officials are mum, but they don’t deny looking at what the competition is up to. Across town, Ford is reversing course with the upcoming launch of the Bronco. Instead of another car-based crossover-utility vehicle, it will deliver a modern take on the classic body-on-frame SUV. Could Chevy have similar plans for a new Blazer? Apparently, we’ll have to wait and see. But with the strength of the ute market, Chevrolet planners clearly know they have to move fast or lose an opportunity.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published

        Analysts Predict Declining Tesla Sales in Q3

        Yesterday

        Overlanding is the New Hotness

        Yesterday
        Line of New Vehicles For Sale

        New Vehicle Sales Increase in September

        Sept. 28, 2023

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: