Earlier this week, news broke regarding the imminent arrival of the first Chevrolet Blazer EVs. They may have already arrived at US dealerships as the first batch left the Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico about two weeks ago. As exciting as that may be, I believe GM may struggle to move large numbers of their newest EV, initially.
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According to electrek.com, Chevy’s latest EV has already reached a production level of 65 Blazer EVs per hour. That’s very significant, in terms of production volume, and potentially represents both a large increase over Chevy Bolt production and perhaps the start of General Motor’s “rebound” from its most recent EV sales decline, and is thus good news for GM and those interested in its EVs. GM’s US EV sales were down a little over 20% between Q1 and Q2, 2023; from 19,700 to 15,652. Nearly all of GM’s US EV sales were due to the Bolt models, and GM is ending production of the Bolt later this year, so the arrival of the Blazer may thus be seen as the beginning of GM’s attempt to dramatically increase its EV sales.
But will GM actually be able to sustain a 65 per hour (or better) production rate for a long period of time? GM is also planning to bring its Chevy Silverado EV and Equinox EV to the US market this year as well, and so far at least, GM has been hamstrung by supply chain issues. As a result, GM has been constrained in sales by battery supply. Supposedly, that will all change by next year, but we may consider tempering production and sales figures for GM’s EVs this year, at least a little.
However, I think supply chain issues are just the beginning of headwinds GM is going to face. Price may be, perhaps, the more significant drag on their sales as long as interest rates are high and the economy struggles. Here’s why I say this: The Blazer EV will start at $47,595, this year, until the base 1LT model comes out next year at a somewhat more affordable price of around $44,995. That is a significantly more expensive electric vehicle than the Chevy Bolt, and the Bolt is the only reason GM temporarily made it into second place this year, behind Tesla, in US EV sales. Now, the Equinox EV will be priced closer to the Bolt (with a base price around $30k in the US), and that’s an important detail, but we should be considering how well any non-Tesla EVs that cost over $40,000 are selling in the US right now as the best possible model to describe the kind of sales we might see of the Blazer EV. Guess what? If we ignore Tesla sales, the best selling EV in the $40-$50k range in the US is the VW ID.4 which has sold over 16,000 units in the US for the first half of the year according to InsideEVs. The ID.4 starts at just under $40K (before destination and other fees) and is eligible for the $7,500 federal tax rebate (which the Blazer should also qualify for, this year). This means, I think, that GM may be in for a rather disappointing miss because with its primary non-Tesla competitor coming in at $5k less and selling perhaps 30-35,000 units by the end of the year, means we might more realistically expect GM to sell half that figure, at best, but more realistically I would say about 40%, at best. 12,000 - 14,000 Chevy Blazer EV sales, plus Bolt, Silverado, Equinox, GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac LYRIQ EV sales should mean that GM has its best ever year for EV sales (and they will likely trumpet that news if so). But the hard truth is that it may be a stretch for GM to reach 100,000 US EV sales in 2023 (I predict they’ll hit between 85 - 95,000, if their supply chain issues continue to improve). Even though that may mean taking 2nd place, behind Tesla, it is a very long way from catching Tesla (considering that Tesla had more than twice that total US registrations, by April, alone).
Are you excited about the new Blazer EV? Are you considering buying one or perhaps put a deposit on one already? Please leave your thoughts and questions below.
Images courtesy of Chevrolet.
Justin Hart has owned and driven electric vehicles for over 15 years, including a first generation Nissan LEAF, second generation Chevy Volt, Tesla Model 3, an electric bicycle and most recently a Kia Sorento PHEV. He is also an avid SUP rider, poet, photographer and wine lover. He enjoys taking long EV and PHEV road trips to beautiful and serene places with the people he loves. Follow Justin on https://www.torquenews.com/kia for regular electric and hybrid news coverage.
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ID4 is a poor comp. Came…
ID4 is a poor comp. Came out to horrible reviews, last generation range in the mid 200's, only 130 kw fast charging, well-known software issues that were and are so bad that they got their last CEO canned. Added to that you are dealing with VW distribution in the US which is not ubiquitous, and a brand that has tried for close to half a century to be a mainstream import player like Toyota or Honda and has failed miserably every turn. In Chevy, you are looking at a mainstream brand with top-notch distribution, so far good reviews on the product (admittedly thin), 300 mile range, 190 kw fast charging and GM has shown make good UI software. VW fundamentally messed up their EV rollouts and have been uncompetitive out of the gate and need to redo their platform strategy. Time will tell with Blazer EV, but I'm just pointing out VW ID.4 is a poor comp for anyone.
Test drove an ID.4. The bass…
Test drove an ID.4. The bass rumble of the tires on the road was the worst of any car I've been in. Such noise which is especially destructive over time to hearing. By contrast, a Solterra has exceptional noise dampening -- but suffers from limited range and slow recharging. If Chevy has designed these to be quiet inside, with decent range and recharging speed, I want it. On the other hand, if the road rumble is like an ID.4's, I'd rather be range limited than slowly deafened.
I wonder how much of that…
I wonder how much of that might be due to tires, and or the roads you drove on for your test drive? Going to have to research whether reviewers complain of road noise in the ID.4 because, as you said, that’s a major detractor. In my experience with EVs and PHEVs, when running on battery, tire noise is where about half the road noise is coming from.
Perhaps there’s no…
Perhaps there’s no accounting for taste, but the VW ID.4 is one of the best selling EVs in the US, and has been pretty much since its release. While that may have more to do with its price (and or availability), I think that Chevy will be hard pressed to outsell it with the Blazer (though perhaps the smaller, cheaper Equinox EV will outsell it). That basically will be due to price though, since a base ID.4 goes for about $20k less than the initial Blazer EV base model (though that’s an unfair comparison given spec of the two base models… ID.4 only about $9k less than Blazer at similar level of spec).
VWs sales and popularity has…
VWs sales and popularity has not resonated with consumers because their ICE
vehicles are at best, disappointing. The German nameplate doesn’t keep up with
the quality one might expect. That said, our experience with the ID4 is somewhat
elevated, with the exception of slow tech and spongy brakes. It just feels better
than, say, the Taos, or Tiguan.
I have high hopes for GM and their electric offerings. They are going to have to improve
on their consumer messaging though. The Blazer EV is MIA at all dealers in California,
yet, we are “told” it’s here….somewhere.
VW is outselling most other…
VW is outselling most other EV brands that aren’t Tesla though (they have outsold GM in some quarters in recent years, too). That may simply be due to price and or availability, but globally speaking VW is one of the top EV producers. That’s not to say American consumers feel more resonance with VW EVs per se as Tesla is the ONLY brand selling significant numbers of EVs in the US. I agree with you I suppose, because if VW wants to move a lot more EVs in the US, they like all the other establishment brands, need to step thing up and offer truly competitive products and services that rival or beat Tesla (since they are by far the dominant brand still).
Im on the waiting list for…
Im on the waiting list for the Blazer RS. If the chevrolet dealers decide to be greedy and charge over MSRP, I will not purchase. Don't let short term dealer greed destroy your company.
Yes! Since Chevy already…
Yes! Since Chevy already raised the price of the Blazers significantly (between their announcement and production), I applaud your statement. If dealers try and gouge customers who are already going to be paying in the low $60k range for the 2LT model of the Blazer EV…. they are going to tank their sales fast. GM should simply cut off any such dealers from getting any stock, in my book. The dealership model must either shape up, or fade away, otherwise the establishment car companies will find themselves eyeing insolvency sooner or later.