Chevrolet Trax, Buick Encore Reportedly Dead After 2022
Once popular but now seriously outmatched, the Chevrolet Trax and Buick Encore will end their production this summer and won’t be back after the 2022 model year, GM Authority reports.
Just over a year ago, the same media outlet hinted that a replacement for the Encore was coming based on “people familiar with the matter.”
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The Car Guide asked a GM Canada representative for comments but he refused to confirm future plans for the vehicles at this stage.
Initially launched for the 2013 model year, the Trax and Encore are both still in their first generation, having received a mid-cycle update for 2017. They’re now largely eclipsed within their own lineups by the new Trailblazer and Encore GX, respectively.
Consider this: Canadian sales of the Trax fell 38.4 percent to 2,395 units in 2021, while the Trailblazer’s jumped a whopping 207.4 percent to 7,641 units.
Over at Buick, the Encore plunged 70.6 percent in Canada last year, selling just 1,902 units. Meanwhile, the Encore GX improved 33.5 percent to 6,959 units, making it the brand’s best-selling vehicle.
With the elimination of the Spark and Trax for 2023, the Trailblazer (MSRP starting at $25,698) will become Chevrolet’s entry-level model along with the Malibu sedan, which doesn’t have much time left. The Encore GX (MSRP starting at $28,198) will fill a similar role at Buick.
Some people looking for a small and cheap new SUV might take issue with GM’s decision, especially in these times of rising consumer prices, but the reality is that the Trax and Encore are no longer compelling products. In fact, the former has the third-worst satisfaction rating of all vehicles in 2022 according to Consumer Reports.