Buick Encore, Chevy Trax reportedly dead after 2022
03-18-22, 01:13 PM
#1
Buick Encore, Chevy Trax reportedly dead after 2022
Neither crossover will be replaced
The Buick Encore will not get an encore, and the Chevrolet Trax is dead in its tracks. Separate unverified reports say the two crossovers, which are essentially identical underneath the sheetmetal, will retire at the end of the 2022 model year without being directly replaced.
Citing anonymous sources, enthusiast website GM Authority wrote that production of the Encore and the Trax is scheduled to end in the third quarter of 2022. Both models are manufactured in Bupyeong-gu, South Korea, and General Motors will reportedly use the extra production capacity to build more examples of the Trailblazer, which outsold the Encore and the Trax combined by a significant margin in 2021.
General Motors hasn't commented on the report, but we wouldn't be surprised if the end is indeed near for the Encore and the Trax. Buick released the Encore for the 2013 model year, and Chevrolet launched the Trax for 2015, but the model made its debut as the Opel Mokka in 2012. It's at the end of its life cycle, and sales figures reflect this: 20,072 units of the Encore were sold in America in 2021, a drop of 52% compared to 2020, while 42,590 examples of the Trax found a home, a 60% decline. It's further proof that Americans don't like small cars.
Viewed in that light, the decision not to replace either crossover makes perfect sense. If the report is accurate, the Encore GX (which is not related to the Encore in any way) will enter the 2023 model year as Buick's entry-level model. The situation is a little more complicated at Chevrolet: The pocket-sized Spark is on its way out in 2022 as well, meaning that the Trailblazer will become the entry point into the range.
It's a different story in Europe: Opel, which is now part of the Stellantis group, released the second-generation Mokka in June 2020.
Citing anonymous sources, enthusiast website GM Authority wrote that production of the Encore and the Trax is scheduled to end in the third quarter of 2022. Both models are manufactured in Bupyeong-gu, South Korea, and General Motors will reportedly use the extra production capacity to build more examples of the Trailblazer, which outsold the Encore and the Trax combined by a significant margin in 2021.
General Motors hasn't commented on the report, but we wouldn't be surprised if the end is indeed near for the Encore and the Trax. Buick released the Encore for the 2013 model year, and Chevrolet launched the Trax for 2015, but the model made its debut as the Opel Mokka in 2012. It's at the end of its life cycle, and sales figures reflect this: 20,072 units of the Encore were sold in America in 2021, a drop of 52% compared to 2020, while 42,590 examples of the Trax found a home, a 60% decline. It's further proof that Americans don't like small cars.
Viewed in that light, the decision not to replace either crossover makes perfect sense. If the report is accurate, the Encore GX (which is not related to the Encore in any way) will enter the 2023 model year as Buick's entry-level model. The situation is a little more complicated at Chevrolet: The pocket-sized Spark is on its way out in 2022 as well, meaning that the Trailblazer will become the entry point into the range.
It's a different story in Europe: Opel, which is now part of the Stellantis group, released the second-generation Mokka in June 2020.
03-18-22, 08:55 PM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
RIP.....although it was generally reliable and well-built, I never really liked the Opel-derived 1Gen Encore. It was small, stubby, awkward-looking, underpowered, and had a well-trimmed but very narrow cabin (by Buick standards). The slightly larger Encore GX, except for some turbo-three-cylinder engine-gruffness, is a far better vehicle inside and out....it impressed me enough to buy one.
The Encore did sell quite well in the U.S., however, for several years.....I disagree with the writer's statement that Americans don't like small vehicles, at least as far as that one was concerned. The 1Gen basically kept Buick afloat here in the American market, and was clearly their best-selling model until the GX debuted. So, just because I personally didn't like the 1Gen version, a whole lot of other people did.
This may (?) finally be the answer to a question Buick fans have been waiting quite a while for.......if GM would bring the 2Gen GEM (Global-Emerging-Market) Encore (which is shown below) to the U.S. or not to replace the 1Gen Encore. The corporate has been mum on that for a long time (too long, IMO).......but now it seems the answer is no. I guess they figured that the new, slightly larger 2Gen Encore would simply been too much of an overlap with the Encore GX, even though they are on two different platforms. The new 2Gen Encore will apparently be kept in the Chinese market.
The Encore did sell quite well in the U.S., however, for several years.....I disagree with the writer's statement that Americans don't like small vehicles, at least as far as that one was concerned. The 1Gen basically kept Buick afloat here in the American market, and was clearly their best-selling model until the GX debuted. So, just because I personally didn't like the 1Gen version, a whole lot of other people did.
This may (?) finally be the answer to a question Buick fans have been waiting quite a while for.......if GM would bring the 2Gen GEM (Global-Emerging-Market) Encore (which is shown below) to the U.S. or not to replace the 1Gen Encore. The corporate has been mum on that for a long time (too long, IMO).......but now it seems the answer is no. I guess they figured that the new, slightly larger 2Gen Encore would simply been too much of an overlap with the Encore GX, even though they are on two different platforms. The new 2Gen Encore will apparently be kept in the Chinese market.
Last edited by mmarshall; 03-18-22 at 09:09 PM.
03-19-22, 05:50 AM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
03-19-22, 05:56 AM
#5
Lexus Fanatic
Makes perfect sense. No need for these vehicles. and nobody will miss them.
And its definitely true that Americans prefer larger vehicles, although thats changing somewhat.
And its definitely true that Americans prefer larger vehicles, although thats changing somewhat.
03-19-22, 06:17 AM
#6
Lexus Fanatic
What Americans DO NOT prefer is giant sedans...those have been replaced by increasingly larger crossovers.
03-19-22, 06:20 AM
#7
Lexus Fanatic
it is still the case. Americans still prefer the larger cars, However, some just don't have a choice. America always had small cars...3 cylinder GEOs in the 1990s, now we have 3 cylinder Buicks.
What Americans DO NOT prefer is giant sedans...those have been replaced by increasingly larger crossovers.
What Americans DO NOT prefer is giant sedans...those have been replaced by increasingly larger crossovers.
A 3 cylinder Buick costs MUCH more than a 3 cylinder Geo did, people are buying small cars not because they can't afford bigger cars, but because they actually want a smaller car.
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03-19-22, 06:26 AM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
A 1990s RAV4 vs a 2022 RAV4...the RAV4 is much larger.
UX replaced the CT...it is marginally larger inside, but it gains in vertical size.
03-19-22, 06:31 AM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
That is true. But those smaller crossovers are replacing smaller cars, they are larger in that they are larger in a vertical way. MM's Encore GX is larger inside that the Verano....maybe ever more room overall than the LaCrosse. It just doesn't show on the outside with length
A 1990s RAV4 vs a 2022 RAV4...the RAV4 is much larger.
A 1990s RAV4 vs a 2022 RAV4...the RAV4 is much larger.
UX replaced the CT...it is marginally larger inside, but it gains in vertical size.
03-19-22, 06:33 AM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
Rav 4 is larger because the trend throughout the Rav's life has been towards larger, but then about 5 years ago they found there was new demand for a smaller vehicle, which is why they came out with the CHR. You see this all over the industry.
CT never caught on though, it was ahead of its time.
CT never caught on though, it was ahead of its time.
03-19-22, 06:35 AM
#11
Lexus Fanatic
And its definitely true that Americans prefer larger vehicles, although thats changing somewhat.
03-19-22, 06:38 AM
#12
Lexus Fanatic
03-19-22, 06:42 AM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
Toyota CHR. Honda makes the HRV.
We're talking about car sizes in America, not worldwide. Yes worldwide small cars have been very popular all along. The fact that Lexus brought the UX here shows the market for a car like that here that didn't used to exist.
Too much overlap between them, doesn't make sense to sell the Encore and Encore GX alongside each other.
Worldwide it did. Still sold. UX is a total Lexus fluke. Not really made for USA
It's always nice to have more choices, but agree that the addition of the GX more or less negates the need to have a new 2Gen Encore. It will be interesting to see how the two of them do in China, where, unlike in he U.S., the new 2Gen Encore and Encore GX will be sold side by side. Frankly, I'd still choose the GX....the new GEM-platform Encore, about same size as the GX, appears to be been bitten some by the bean-counters, particularly in the interior, at least from the images i have seen of it.
03-19-22, 06:45 AM
#14
Lexus Fanatic
Yeah, meant HRV
But if Toyota didn't have world markets. UX and CT as well as the smaller LX would be D.O.A. Would never make money. They just dump them here.Same thing for the GX Encore. it is dumped here from South Korea .Lexus sales are actually stalled at 300K because they lack what Americans really want. A huge SUV like an Escalade or massive crossover.
Names also make it confusing too.
Names also make it confusing too.
03-19-22, 06:46 AM
#15
Lexus Fanatic
The Encore GX is more pleasant to drive, more versatile, and reasonably safe in an accident.