Korea GM's 'Trailblazer' Surpasses 300,000 Units in Cumulative Exports

2 Years and 5 Months Since Export Started in November 2019

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Chevrolet's sports utility vehicle (SUV) Trailblazer has surpassed 300,000 units in cumulative exports.

On the 3rd, Korea GM announced that as of last month, the cumulative export volume of the Trailblazer reached 311,023 units. This marks 2 years and 5 months since the first export began in November 2019.

The Trailblazer is a model promised for domestic production as part of GM's future plan to normalize management at its Korean operations, announced in 2018 through agreements with various stakeholders. All units are produced at the Bupyeong plant and exported.

The Trailblazer has pioneered a new standard for premium compact SUVs by offering a subcompact body size that transcends class, three designs tailored to customers' lifestyles, and GM's next-generation E-Turbo engine.

Despite the impact of COVID-19 and the global shortage of automotive semiconductor chips last year, a total of 126,832 units were exported. This ranks second among domestic passenger car export models. On a monthly average, more than 10,000 units were exported each month. Furthermore, despite ongoing semiconductor supply issues this year, the Trailblazer, along with its sibling model the Buick Encore GX, has maintained three consecutive months of export growth, demonstrating steady demand in the global market.

The Trailblazer is making a strong presence in the United States, Korea GM's largest export market, alongside the Buick Encore GX. According to U.S. market research firm J.D. Power, the Trailblazer achieved a 10% retail sales share in the highly competitive small SUV segment in the first quarter of last year. In the third quarter, it ranked first in retail sales share in the small SUV segment together with the Buick Encore GX.

A Korea GM official stated, "With the domestic launch of the full-size SUV Tahoe earlier this year, we have completed a full SUV lineup including the Trailblazer, Trax, Equinox, and Traverse." He added, "At the same time, we are steadily preparing to launch the next-generation global crossover utility vehicle (CUV) to recover domestic sales and expand export volumes."

The next-generation global crossover vehicle, a strategic model for global market expansion alongside the Trailblazer, will be produced at the Changwon plant starting in 2023. To this end, Korea GM completed a new painting plant in March last year. From mid-September last year, they conducted large-scale new facility investments over four months to secure world-class production technology.