Is Chevy Looking To Axe the Sonic And Impala?
Compared to crossovers, these models just don't sell as well.
Khodrocar - General Motors will allegedly consider axing the Sonic and Impala from the brand's lineup, according to The Wall Street Journal citing unnamed insiders. The Sonic's death could be as soon as this year, but the Impala would likely stick around for a while longer.
Chevrolet marketing director Steve Majoros denied this rumor to Automotive News, though. "Nothing formal to report today. But I would say for all three of those products we are committed to those," he said. "They're a part of our portfolio today, they'll be a part of our portfolio here in the future."
The disagreement between the statements from insiders and execs leaves the Sonic and Impala's future in doubt. However, sales figures indicate why the company might want to drop them. Sonic deliveries dropped 45.2 percent in 2017 to a total of 30,290 units. The Impala's numbers dropped 21.8 percent last year to 75,877 examples. For comparison, the Chevy Equinox was the second-highest seller for all of GM last year with 290,458 deliveries – up 19.9 percent from 2016.
A rumor last year suggested that General Motors was investigating the possibility of dropping several of its cars after 2020, including the Buick LaCrosse, Chevy Impala, Sonic, Volt, Cadillac XTS, and CT6. "The passenger car business is extremely difficult because it has been declining for several years and we are seeing competitors resort to strategies that we think are unsustainable,” GM spokesperson Jim Cain said at the time.
In 2015, even company CEO Mary Barra hinted at the possibility of axing the Impala. "That's a hard one because the Impala is such a great vehicle but we can't look at where the market's been. We've got to look at where the market's going," she said.
Chevrolet marketing director Steve Majoros denied this rumor to Automotive News, though. "Nothing formal to report today. But I would say for all three of those products we are committed to those," he said. "They're a part of our portfolio today, they'll be a part of our portfolio here in the future."
The disagreement between the statements from insiders and execs leaves the Sonic and Impala's future in doubt. However, sales figures indicate why the company might want to drop them. Sonic deliveries dropped 45.2 percent in 2017 to a total of 30,290 units. The Impala's numbers dropped 21.8 percent last year to 75,877 examples. For comparison, the Chevy Equinox was the second-highest seller for all of GM last year with 290,458 deliveries – up 19.9 percent from 2016.
A rumor last year suggested that General Motors was investigating the possibility of dropping several of its cars after 2020, including the Buick LaCrosse, Chevy Impala, Sonic, Volt, Cadillac XTS, and CT6. "The passenger car business is extremely difficult because it has been declining for several years and we are seeing competitors resort to strategies that we think are unsustainable,” GM spokesperson Jim Cain said at the time.
In 2015, even company CEO Mary Barra hinted at the possibility of axing the Impala. "That's a hard one because the Impala is such a great vehicle but we can't look at where the market's been. We've got to look at where the market's going," she said.
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