Buick Encore, Chevy Trax Won't Live Beyond 2022, Report Says
The larger Encore GX and Trailblazer SUVs will remain.
The subcompact Buick Encore SUV isn't long for this world. According to a report from GM Authority on Friday, Buick will discontinue its smallest offering after the 2022 model year, though the slightly larger Encore GX will live on.
Despite the shared name, the Encore and Encore GX are two entirely different vehicles. The former shares its architecture with the Chevrolet Trax , while the latter is related to the Chevy Trailblazer. Ever since the Encore GX arrived in 2020, sales of the smaller Encore have tanked. In 2020, the GX only outsold the smaller Encore by about 3,000 units, but one year later, Buick sold more than three times as many Encore GX SUVs as it did regular Encores -- 71,247 compared to 20,072. That's a 59% increase for the GX and a 52% drop for the Encore.
Following the Encore's demise, Buick's US lineup will be limited to the Encore GX, Envision and Enclave . Buick is expected to launch a pair of electric crossovers built on General Motors' Ultium battery architecture in the coming years, as well.
The Buick Encore is assembled at GM's Bupyeong factory in Incheon, South Korea, and production is expected to end in the third quarter of this year. A Buick spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
Update, 3:35 p.m.: GM Authority also reports the Chevy Trax is on its way out for similar reasons. Like the Encore, sales of the Trax have been dwindling in recent years. Chevrolet will instead focus its efforts on the slightly larger Trailblazer.
