General Motors Co. announced it will be bringing its Chevrolet Trax SUV to the U.S.
The SUV will go on sale in the U.S. early next year, according to Associated Press. The 2015 model was unveiled Tuesday before the New York International Auto Show.
GM believes the Trax, Chevrolet's smallest SUV, will appeal to younger buyers and Baby Boomers who like the Honda CR-V and the Chevy Equinox. The subcompact crossover shares the same platform with Chevrolet's Sonic subcompact, and is 168.5 inches long, the same length as a Volkswagen Beetle.
GM said that since the introduction of the 2013 model, the company has sold almost 900,000 Trax SUVs in over 60 markets, which include Canada and Mexico, The Detroit News reported. GM added that that the Trax will be sold in China, which is the company's biggest sales market.
"Trax offers customers another option in the Chevrolet family and will be a strong competitor in the emerging small-SUV market, which is expected to grow more than 80 percent by 2016," said Alan Batey, GM North America president and senior vice president of Global Chevrolet.
The Trax will be competing with other smaller SUVs, such as the Kia Soul and Nissan Nuke. Other subcompact SUVs that it will join include the Jeep Renegade and an upcoming SUV from Honda based on the Urban SUV Concept.
The SUV has an estimated fuel economy of 26 miles per gallon city and 34 mpg highway, The Detroit News reported. The Trax is powered by an Ecotec 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, which is expected to have 138 horsepower and 148 foot-pounds of torque. The vehicle is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.
The Trax's sales may be impacted by gas prices in the U.S., Associated Press reported. Gasoline is expected by the Energy Department to average $3.45 per gallon this year, which is less than $3.51 in 2013. The agency also expects the average to decline to $3.37 per gallon next year.
The SUV for the U.S. market will be built in Mexico and South Korea.
