Chevy Deletes 1LT Trim on Blazer EV, Report

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

A few days ago, we brought you news of the entry-level Blazer EV vanishing off the order sheet, a development caught by eagle-eyed fans and confirmed by General Motors. Now, the gearheads at Automotive News have learned the trim has been permanently deep-sixed for the 2024 model year.


This is significant since it marks the end of any chance the Mexican-built ’24 Blazer EV will be available in at least one iteration for around $45,000. That was the figure tossed out by execs when initial announcements about this rig were made approximately one year ago, a sum that would have at least kept the Blazer EV within reach of a wider swath of the buying public.


Instead, shoppers venturing into a Chevy showroom this autumn will be facing a $56,715 2LT with all-wheel drive as the least expensive option. A $60,215 RS all-wheel drive model is what The General is planning to launch with this summer, if you’re wondering. There is apparently a two-wheel drive 2LT in the hopper for next year, though its price has yet to be disclosed. Given traditional price premiums for AWD in both ICE and EVs, you gotta figure its sticker will certainly be over $50k.


An official platitude being mouthed by the company is that these pricing decisions will help prevent the Blazer EV from overlapping the Equinox EV, a type of ladder system that dates to the days of Alfred Sloan. If trims such as Premier or even High Country (hey, it’s on the Traverse) are affixed to the Eq then it could certainly have an asking price pushing $50,000 after options are added.


It's well within an OEM’s rights to reposition trim levels as it sees fit, of course, but shifting the Blazer EV even further upmarket in terms of price is not without its risks – especially with the affordable Bolt set to evaporate next year. Sure, that model is allegedly coming back but no timeline has been given as to a concept’s unveiling, let alone the car itself.


Chevy has been touting a $30,000-ish starting price for a base Equinox EV 1LT, a figure to which they will need to get close if they wish to aggressively grow their market share in this space. Here’s hoping the 1LT trim fares better in the hands of Equinox planners.


[Image: Chevrolet]


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Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • Jose R Monsegur Jose R Monsegur on Aug 06, 2023

    Don't you hate when you reserve a vehicle at a price and then tell you is $8,000 more expensive. I have a reservation for a Blazer EV in RS trim, at the time it was it was supposed to start at around $52,000, now the model I would want would be the RS RWD but that price is almost $62,000 to start, without options. So I'll guess I'll get another Model Y, a fully loaded Performance is $57,000 . Does the Blazer offer so much more than the Tesla to justify the extra money?, I don't think so. We may see a lot of Blazer on the lots like other manufacturers who refuse to lower their prices.

  • Dukeisduke Dukeisduke on Aug 07, 2023

    Stupid, for a brand that used to be one of the "Low-Priced Three" along with Ford and Plymouth, and sold tons of Biscaynes, Bel Airs, etc.

    • Art_Vandelay Art_Vandelay on Aug 08, 2023

      Bel Air was the mid to high trim. This would be like killing the Biscayne


  • Kjhkjlhkjhkljh kljhjkhjklhkjh Let me get this straight .. they made the app BETTER TO STARE AT WHILE DRIVING... when you are NOT supposed to be staring at a 10 inch screen glued to your dashboard for any length of time?Might as well make cyanide taste like Kool-Aid
  • MrIcky I bet these will sell ok- as fleet vehicles. They will take on in town pick up duties for power companies when an hd with tool boxes aren't required, they will show up on any company that wants to push a 'green image' but still needs to haul ladders and such like solar and roofing. It will be a strange truck in a strange market but I bet it doesn't do too bad
  • 2ACL If your driving and/or maintenance regimen wrecked the valves, what other horrors await me? A maintained 2.slow can be decent basic transportation, though many of the models carrying it are old enough to have age-related problems. This is impending heartbreak for anyone not intent on getting their hands dirty.
  • Theflyersfan If cutting costs (which usually means cheaper parts and materials) is their plan of attack, all the while dealing with millions of cars recalled and with serious quality issues, I think staying away from Ford is the best thing possible. When you hack and slash away like that, it tends to be a race to the bottom. (See: Nissan and Mitsubishi. )How about, instead, focusing on what is breaking and forcing expensive recalls and emergency service bulletins because it always costs more to fix it after the fact. And then the reputation can be improved and you can charge $100,000 for a pickup without a guilty conscience.
  • EBFlex Translation: “We want to lower quality even more”How about stop with the EVs that nobody wants and is a dead end road and invest that into making quality vehicles?
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