Skip to main content

Chevrolet is one of the most popular American car brands, but not every Chevy model sells well. Despite the iconic car company’s continued success, many Chevy vehicles have seen decreased sales in the first few months of 2023. Here’s a look at two Chevy models that are selling very well and two that aren’t. 

Chevrolet released its first-quarter sales figures, and the company is performing well overall. It sold almost 400,000 units in Q1 2023, a 16% growth from Q1 2022. Many Chevy models increased in year-over-year sales, but the Bolt and Trailblazer are standouts. 

In the first quarter of 2023, the automaker sold nearly 28,000 Trailblazer models. In the same period last year, Chevy only sold about 8,600 units of the SUV. That’s a massive jump of almost 20,000 units, equal to a 225% year-over-year gain, GM Authority reports. Meanwhile, the Bolt experienced an even more dramatic increase.

That’s because the Bolt family of electric vehicles (the Bolt EV hatchback and the Bolt EUV subcompact crossover) saw an eye-popping 27,261% increase in year-over-year sales. This fluke is the result of Chevrolet selling only about 360 Bolt units in Q1 2022. That’s because these EVs had a massive recall that forced the company to stop production, so nobody was buying a new Bolt. Chevrolet eventually fixed the problem, and the automaker sold nearly 20,000 units of the EV in the first quarter of 2023.

But the Chevy Blazer and Colorado aren’t doing great

While the Chevy Trailblazer is enjoying an impressive jump, its bigger sibling, the Blazer, is seeing the opposite. In the first quarter of 2023, Chevy moved about 15,000 Blazers. That’s almost half the number of Trailblazers that were sold. On top of that, the Blazer was doing better last year, when Chevy sold nearly 19,000 units in the first quarter of 2022. That means the Blazer experienced a nearly 19% sales decline.

However, the Colorado is doing worse. The American automaker has sold just over 13,000 units of the midsize pickup. It’s worse when compared with last year when the company sold about 21,700 Colorado trucks. It’s a drop in sales of over 8,000 units, equaling a 39% year-over-year decline. That steep drop gives the Colorado the distinction of having the second-worst year-over-year decrease overall, behind the discontinued Chevy Spark’s 46% drop.

There are a couple of possible explanations for these sales numbers

The Chevy Bolt’s huge sales jump is easily explained, but it’s tougher for the other Chevy models. In the Colorado’s case, the entire midsize truck segment has been on the decline. That might indicate consumers want smaller trucks, larger trucks, or no trucks at all. That said, Chevy redesigned the Colorado for the 2023 model year, and it’s set to debut later this year. Shoppers might just be waiting for that version.

On the other hand, the Trailblazer is a newer SUV that debuted in the 2021 model year. Its sales growth might be because consumers have had time to learn about the new SUV and like what they see. The revived Blazer is also relatively new, debuting in the 2019 model year. Its decline could be because shoppers are choosing the Trailblazer instead.

Related

The Chevy Blazer and Trailblazer Are Going in Opposite Directions