Normal Motors is lastly placing the Chevrolet Blazer EV debacle behind it. The automaker has resumed gross sales of the troubled SUV after pulling it off the market because of software program points in December.
Plus, GM on Friday introduced new, cheaper pricing for the Blazer EV lineup that would assist juice gross sales following the pause. The entry-level Blazer EV LT AWD received the largest value lower, bringing its MSRP (together with vacation spot) to $50,195 from $56,715.
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GM’s Chevy Blazer snafu
Normal Motors paused gross sales of the Chevrolet Blazer EV in December because of critical software program issues. InsideEVs skilled this firsthand when a BlazerEV we had been testing broke down at a charging station, leaving our reviewer stranded.
Add on the $7,500 federal tax credit score, which GM stated that the Blazer EV now qualifies for, and the bottom value for a Blazer EV comes all the way down to $42,695. Guidelines round which automobiles might obtain the tax credit score modified originally of 2024.
Pricing for at the moment out there Blazer EV trims is as follows, together with vacation spot fees:
2024 Blazer EV Mannequin | Unique MSRP | New MSRP | With $7,500 credit score |
LT AWD | $56,715 | $50,195 | $42,695 |
RS AWD | $60,215 | $54,595 | $47,095 |
RS RWD | $61,790 | $56,170 | $48,670 |
Earlier than the stop-sale order, InsideEVs’ very personal Kevin Williams had a Blazer EV press automobile break down throughout a highway journey, leaving him stranded at a charging station. GM did not specify what sorts of software program enhancements allowed it to restart gross sales. The corporate delivered fewer than 500 Blazer EVs earlier than the pause.
The Blazer EV is not simply one other GM product. It is extra vital than that. The electrical SUV launched late final 12 months because the automaker’s first next-generation EV really aimed on the mass market. Different GM EVs driving on the corporate’s new Ultium battery platform had been the area of interest GMC Hummer EV, the expensive Cadillac Lyriq and the Chevrolet Silverado EV, a pickup truck.
Solely the Blazer EV, a midsized SUV, aimed straight on the coronary heart of the American car-buying public and at America’s best-selling electrical mannequin, the Tesla Mannequin Y. GM had already been sluggish to speed up Ultium-based automobile gross sales because of points ramping up battery manufacturing. And it has bold plans to make billions per 12 months on all kinds of software program, a lot of which it’s creating in-house.
So it was a blow when software program issues pushed GM to cease gross sales. To make sure, GM is not alone right here. EV startups and conventional automakers alike have been fighting automobile software program, which is turning into extra vital as producers eye snazzy tech options and subscription companies.
Lots continues to journey on the success of the Ultium automobiles and the software program that runs on them. So, for GM’s sake, hopefully it is ironed out the intense kinks.