Chevrolet debuts Tracker and Trailblazer at Auto Shanghai
After teasing photos of the new CUV duo, Chevrolet finally unveiled the upcoming Tracker and Trailblazer models at Auto Shanghai 2019. The two CUVs, bound for the Chinese market, have a strong family resemblance and share a lot of their design cues with the Chevrolet Blazer. In fact, looking at photos of the Blazer and Trailblazer side by-by-side, the two have nearly identical proportions.
Chevy’s press release was short on details like interior or exterior dimensions or powertrain options, but it looks to us that the Trailblazer, described as a “compact SUV” is a bit smaller than the Blazer. That should put the new Tracker, the even smaller and more sleekly designed of the two, around the same size class as a subcompact. The Tracker’s platform is one designed for emerging markets, so it is unlikely to make the jump to U.S. shores.
Chevrolet sold a third of a million Equinoxes in the U.S. last year, and they’re on pace to sell 350,000 in 2019. Considering their success and the fact that it was totally redesigned for 2018, we’re not sure where the Trailblazer would fit in the brand’s U.S. lineup. However, Chevrolet did note that the Auto Shanghai event marked a “global debut” for the vehicles, and there’s no reason to think China will be the CUVs’ only market.
The current Chevrolet Trax is sold in Russia and South America as the Chevrolet Tracker, so while Chevrolet hasn’t hinted at either of the two new additions to their CUV lineup coming to the U.S., perhaps the naming convention suggests the Tracker will eventually replace the Trax in other markets. If so, it would mean a big move upmarket, as the new Tracker is larger and wears perhaps the best interpretation yet of Chevrolet’s new crossover design language we’ve seen so far.
We reached out to Chevy to clarify the future of these two vehicles fresh off an auto show debut, but representatives would not specify what markets other than China would receive the pair of CUVs.
