Chevrolet to Keep up With Trailblazer Demand

As Chevrolet keeps up with the high demand for the Blazer in the United States, another Chevy model is becoming popular among buyers: the Trailblazer. The subcompact crossover is the automaker’s entry to the segment other than the aging Trax, which targets customers who are looking for budget vehicles with premium features.

Here’s the catch: while gaining attention, the Trailblazer, too, has limited supply, particularly its sporty RS trim.

Inventory issues came to a point where, in December, only 1,500 units of the model were parked at dealerships across the entire United States. Much like its challenges in building Blazers, Chevy also had a hard time rolling out enough Trailblazers from its assembly line.

But this concern seems to have been addressed as a recent report from GM Authority revealed that the automaker has increased its Trailblazer inventory to 8,000 units in the past few weeks.

In perspective, the Bow Tie brand sold a total of 34,292 units of the Trailblazer. This meant that having only 1,500 in stock at the beginning of December could spell huge problems for Chevrolet. And while it’s similar to the hot-selling Blazer, which sold 94,599 units in the past year, it is also worth noting that the Trailblazer was not on sale anywhere in the US until last May.

It didn’t help that Chevrolet’s factory in South Korea had to shut down temporarily due to coronavirus restrictions, followed by supplier-related issues that are also pandemic-related.

By the time the Trailblazer hit the peak of its popularity late in the summer of 2020, it recorded the least amount of time that a new vehicle sat on dealer lots—36 days compared to the ideal 60-day period.

At present, demand for the Trailblazer shows no signs of slowing down. To address the problem, Chevrolet will be decreasing its Trax production by around 30% in an effort to meet the demand for the Trailblazer. Both models are built at Chevy’s facility in South Korea.