GM hasn’t officially announced the Chevy Blazer’s demise just yet, but the writing could be on the wall for this midsize crossover.
When it first rolled onto the scene six years ago, opinions were mixed about the all-new Blazer, to put it generously. While some folks lambasted the automaker’s decision to stray from history in making this generation model a street-slicking, midsize family SUV rather than a more traditional off-roader, it has been a decent seller over its production run. Nevertheless, a report from GM Authority points to an upcoming shift among GM’s internal combustion vehicles, with models like the Blazer as well as the Cadillac XT5 and XT6 drawing the short straw and meeting their end after 2025.
To be clear, the company has not outright confirmed the news on the Blazer, at time of writing. Nevertheless, its sales have been on the wane after reaching a peak of 94,599 U.S. sales in 2020. These days, dealers are moving just over half that volume (52,576 units), though that figure is about the same as the Blazer’s dubious 2019 launch, and year-over-year sales have steadily dropped since hitting their high. That’s a classic case of “the writing’s on the wall”, even if there’s not official word yet.
There are a few plausible reason for the current Chevy Blazer meeting its demise. Chevrolet has revamped most of its SUV lineup, from the tiny Trax being an unmistakable hit to the larger Equinox and overhauled Traverse — to say nothing of the iconic Tahoe and Suburban’s facelift. Two of its latest crossover updates, the Traverse and the Equinox, bookend the current Blazer, so buyers can move in either direction without too much trouble (and the Equinox actually got a little bit bigger, in its current generation).
Another could be GM’s shifting production priorities. It currently builds both the ICE and electric Chevy Blazer at its Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico, alongside the Equinox EV and Cadillac Optiq. In an effort to shift that facility to an all-electric output, it could kill off the ICE-powered Blazer for the foreseeable future. The automaker will continue to build the Blazer EV, irrespective of its reported intention to drop the gas model. This would be a similar move to what GM seems to be doing with the Spring Hill, Tennessee plant. That mixed-production facility builds the XT5 and XT6 (both of which are also going out of production this year), as well as the Lyriq EV.
Finally, though this may just be wishful thinking on our part: Chevrolet could reimagine the ICE Blazer as a true spiritual successor to the K5 Blazer of old — a midsize, body-on-frame (or at least more rugged unibody) SUV to compete against the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler. It seems GM has largely conceded the off-road SUV space to its Big Three rivals, and with rumors that even Nissan could revive the Xterra to bring more competition back to the space…the opening is there, if GM sees fit to take it.
Again, the Chevrolet Blazer name will live on in North America through the electric SUV. Outside our market, the company also sells a larger three-row version in China, and there are currently no plans to discontinue that model.
