An uphill battle? Chevy is offering hefty incentives to get Equinox buyers to shift to the bigger V-6.
General Motors is pumping up the incentives it’s offering on the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers. That might seem odd considering the maker is struggling to keep up with demand for the two CUVs – but the $1,000 givebacks apply only to the slow-selling V-6 versions.
The maker is hoping to convince some buyers to switch in order to ease the shortage of the I-4 Equinox and Terrain models. The $1,000 in cash all but offsets the $1,500 premium for the more powerful – if lower mileage – V-6 options.
As TheDetroitBureau.com reported today, there’s a wholesale shift in the market as motorists downsize the vehicles they pick and the powertrains they opt for. Small cars have gained significant ground in recent months, climbing from 17.9% of the overall U.S. market as recently as December to 23% in February, according to Edmunds.com.
Meanwhile, consumers are rapidly abandoning V-8s for V-6s in big trucks, where available, and shifting from sixes to fours in smaller products, such as the Equinox and Terrain. The overall result is that the fuel economy of the average new car, truck and crossover set an all-time record last month.
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Some makers have downsized on their own, Hyundai and Kia notably switching to four-cylinder models only for their midsize Sonata and Optima lines. Other manufacturers are racing to keep up with shifting demand. Ford now sells more V-6s than V-8s in its big F-Series pickups.
GM is struggling to match production to demand on the Equinox and Terrain, reports Automotive News, and according to spokesman Jim Cain, it has placed “temporary order limits” on the four-cylinder versions of those crossovers.
Dealers are being forced to order more V-6 versions than they’d like – and have been pleading with GM to help prop up demand with new incentives.
Sales of the I-4 Terrain and Equinox models has actually dipped in recent weeks, to 79% of overall sales, down from 87% for all of 2011. But that reflects problems getting the parts needed to build more four-cylinder models, according to spokesman Cain.
Even the V-6 model is selling fast, with Chevy dealers holding an Equinox on the lot just 39 days. The industry average is closer to 60 days. But the I-4 Equinox “turns” in just 30 days. The situation is similar for the GMC Terrain.
For the money, a buyer will get 264 horsepower out of the V-6 versions of the two crossovers – and a bit more standard features. The inline-four engine cuts that to 182 hp.
But with gas fast approaching $4 a gallon in much of the country what is likely to matter more for many consumers is the fact the four-cylinder powertrain yields 32 mpg on the highway, 22 in urban driving. By comparison, the V-6 models are rated at 17 City/24 Highway by the EPA.
For a driver clocking 15,000 miles a year, the V-6 would use about 750 gallons annually, the I-4 about 550. With a $4 gallon, the savings could reach $800 in a single year, nearly offsetting the $1,000 incentives on the bigger engine.