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Customer LoginsChevrolet reveals all-new 2018 model-year Equinox, offers diesel engine
Chevrolet is moving the all-new 2018 Equinox to all turbo, 4-cylinder engines, offering two gasoline units and one diesel unit. The 2018 model is smaller than the outgoing product and 400 pounds lighter. Sales begin in the United States in the first quarter of 2017.
IHS Markit perspective
- Significance: Chevrolet has unveiled its next-generation Equinox utility vehicle, choosing an off-auto-show location for the reveal and striving to get more attention for the model than it might at a major international auto show.
- Implications: The Equinox is Chevrolet's second-best-selling product in the United States, behind the Silverado pick-up, and its third-best-selling vehicle globally, behind the Silverado and the Cruze. Competing in the compact CUV segment, it competes in the second-largest US vehicle segment.
Chevrolet has revealed the initial details of the 2018 model-year Equinox compact crossover utility vehicle (CUV). The Equinox will offer 170-hp, 1.5-litre and 252-hp, 2.0-litre turbocharged gasoline (petrol) engines and a 136-hp, 1.6-litre turbo-diesel, all 4-cylinder engines. The 2.0-litre engine will be mated to General Motors' (GM) new 9-speed automatic transmission, while the other two engines receive GM's 6-speed automatic transmission. Dan Nicholson, vice-president of global propulsion systems, said, "The advantage for each is the power of a larger engine and the efficiency of a smaller engine." Equinox becomes Chevrolet's first model to offer all turbocharged engines, and the current 301-hp V6 offering will be dropped. The all-wheel-drive system disconnects from the rear axle when it is not needed, contributing to expected fuel-efficiency improvements.
The vehicle will arrive with a full suite of GM's safety and connectivity technologies. These include technologies offered elsewhere in GM's fleet, with some applied to the Equinox for the first time as the vehicle has both camera and radar-based adaptive technologies. The 2018 Equinox will offer a safety alert seat, surround vision, forward collision alert with following distance indicator, low-speed forward automatic braking, lane-keep assist with lane departure warning, rear seat reminder (alerts to people left in the back seat when the vehicle is exited), lane change alert with side blind zone alert and rear cross traffic alert. The family-orientated product will also offer GM's Teen Driver function. As with other Chevrolet products, the Equinox will have MyLink infotainment systems with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support, 7-inch or 8-inch displays, and available OnStar 4G LTE.
GM says that the 2018 Equinox CUV is 400 pounds lighter than the current model, and the wheelbase is five inches shorter and the overall length four inches shorter. The new Equinox, with a wheelbase of 107.3 inches rather than the 112.5 inches of the outgoing car and an overall length of 183.2 inches rather than 187.8 inches, has a size more similar to the recently launched Buick Envision.
The Equinox takes a new exterior design, looking to cues from the Chevrolet Cruze and Malibu, rather than the pick-up truck line. The new design freshens and modernises the product, without going too soft. In a company statement, executive director of design John Cafaro said, "Customers who previewed the vehicle early on had a strong emotional response to the sleek and sophisticated exterior design. Those same themes are carried into the interior, making the space beautifully intuitive."
Outlook and implications
The Equinox is Chevrolet's second-best-selling product in the United States, behind the Silverado pick-up, and the brand's third-best-selling vehicle globally, behind the Silverado and the Cruze. Competing in the compact CUV segment, it competes in the second-largest US vehicle segment. Both for its volume to the GM family and because C-segment utility vehicles are still seeing strong sales growth, it is critical for the Equinox to be in sync with segment demands. Based on initial information shared at launch, the vehicle appears to have hit all the targets that it will need to, from a product attribute standpoint. As D-segment cars have struggled, C-segment utility vehicles are evolving to become the heart of the US market, the go-to vehicles for families, slowly taking that position from compact and mid-size sedans − witnessed in the Chevrolet line-up as in 2016 the Equinox is outselling both the Malibu and the Cruze sedans.
The 2018 Equinox will be a little smaller than the previous generation, but it is better sized for the segment, and the weight loss Chevrolet has achieved from the model becoming smaller and other lightweighting efforts enable the company to change to an all-turbo, smaller displacement, more efficient engine family, likely without dramatically impacting performance. Instead of a top output of 301 hp, as in the V6 delivered for the outgoing generation, the new entry's powertrain line-up reaches the 252 hp of the 2.0-litre engine. Further, even with the drop in size, the Equinox is longer in wheelbase and overall length than its key competitors, which translates into more interior volume. The smaller size may also allow the Equinox to perform better in international markets, which generally prefer smaller vehicles than in the US; the size issue is also important as GM has announced it will expand the countries the Equinox is offered in to 115 by the end of 2017. In 2015, 92% of Equinox sales were in the US. Developing a product better sized for international C-segment utility vehicle markets can help GM deliver success as it seeks to expand global sales of the new Equinox. Additionally, IHS Automotive forecasts that Chevrolet's North American utility vehicle line-up will grow by one more in 2017. Chevrolet is forecast to add a D-segment utility vehicle based on the CHI platform of the GMC Acadia and the Cadillac XT5, as well as a new-generation model of the Traverse. While GMC's Acadia is notably smaller than the previous-generation model, the next Traverse will remain similar to today's model's dimensions. Shrinking the Equinox slightly will help make room for the new D-segment product, currently referred to as the Blazer in our forecast.
During January−August 2016, GM reported it has sold 158,475 Equinox vehicles, down 17.7% compared with the same period of 2015, as the current-generation model is in its last year and the company has pulled back on fleet sales. GM launches the Equinox in North America in the first quarter of 2017, rolling it out to other markets by the end of 2017, including China. Within the US mainstream compact CUV segment, Chevrolet generally finds itself in the top five, consistently behind Toyota's RAV4, Honda's CR-V, and Ford's Escape. Nissan's Rogue has been a strong performer in this segment as well. The Rogue takes a facelift for the 2017 model year, and adds a hybrid powertrain as well, as does the RAV4. Chevrolet is leveraging its 1.6-litre diesel engine for the fuel-efficiency play.
The diesel engine may seem at odds with the current environment, in the context of the Volkswagen (VW) diesel crisis. However, diesel engines are respected in truck applications and Chevrolet is respected for its truck capability, including diesel engines in Chevrolet's HD Silverado and Colorado. Offering the diesel may tie the entry to Chevrolet's strong truck image. However, while the Colorado diesel receives positive critical review, it is expensive and the share of diesel-engine registrations has been relatively low (3,852 diesel-engine Colorado vehicles were registered between January and June 2016, compared with 53,961 gasoline-engine vehicles). The Jeep Grand Cherokee, larger and more expensive than the Equinox, also offers a diesel powertrain, with registrations of the powertrain declining sharply since 2014. In 2014, the Chevrolet Cruze saw diesel engine registrations reach 5,880, but that figure dropped to 3,392 in 2015. The latest Cruze is not currently available with a diesel engine. Engineering the vehicle for a diesel engine can be important for some international markets, but it is not clear what the demand level in the US will be.
Currently, IHS Automotive does not forecast the new model will move Chevrolet further up the sales ladder, despite a fresh exterior that shares cues with the current Chevrolet design language. The Equinox will be launched when US sales are levelling off and the environment is becoming more competitive. The diesel option is interesting in the wake of potential consumer mistrust after the VW diesel crisis, but it suggests that GM is confident there is sufficient diesel demand. The Equinox is moving to the Global Delta platform, a platform with variations also underpinning North American products, including Chevrolet's Volt and Cruze; Buick's Cascada, Envision, and Verano; an expected small crossover for Cadillac; and the GMC Terrain. IHS Automotive forecasts vehicles on the platform will see sales of more than 730,000 units in North America in 2018. Sales of the Equinox are forecast to account for about 35% of that total, with North American sales of about 256,500 in 2018.
About this article
The above article is from IHS Automotive Same-Day Analysis of automotive news, events and trends, and is a deliverable of the World Markets Automotive Service. The service averages thirty stories per day and also provides competitor and country intelligence. Get a free trial.