General Motors is undergoing a metamorphosis of some sort. Part of the company’s restructuring program of its international operations include the axing of the Australian Holden brand, and the sale of its Rayong, Thailand plant to Great Wall Motors. The latter has had a direct effect on the Philippine market as the Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV was assembled there.
GM’s strategy for select global markets is to concentrate on a crossover-heavy catalog which it thinks will bring significant financial returns. Chevrolet Philippines is clearly mirroring this plan of action as it has announced the launching of the all-new Trailblazer this month.
We’ve briefly written about what makes this vehicle different from the outgoing model, and they are completely different animals. Instead of a ladder-frame chassis, the upcoming Trailblazer now uses a unibody frame. And with a shorter overall length of just over 4.4m, it clearly has its sights on a different market segment—a hotly contested one at that. So, what can Filipino consumers expect from Chevrolet’s upcoming product?
The Trailblazer is manufactured in two places: China and South Korea. We can all make our guesses on where Chevrolet Philippines will be sourcing its stock, but it is certain that the automaker is targeting a competitive price point. It comes with either a 1.2-liter or a 1.3-liter turbocharged engine, the bigger one producing 162hp and 240Nm in the Chinese market. It is paired to a CVT or a nine-speed automatic gearbox.
Chevrolet’s MyLink infotainment system appears to be standard equipment, and we hope that it will finally have Android Auto alongside Apple CarPlay. Additionally, it seems like the Chinese-market model comes with a bunch of driver aids like forward-collision detection and braking, lane-keep assist, and automatic high beam. Of course, such features will affect the sticker price of the vehicles we will be getting.
Speaking of price, it starts at 139,900 Chinese yuan (P1.1 million). Now, with the range-topping variant of the smaller Tracker going for P1,242,888, expect the local-spec Trailblazer to retail around the P1,400,000 mark.
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