With the May 2017 announcement that General Motors and the Chevrolet brand will be leaving South Africa for good (again), after a recent 13 year stint, comes as a bit of a shock. Having recently unveiled the new and improved Trailblazer in October 2016 – a mere 8 months ago, it would appear that this latest decision was taken rather hastily. As a Chevy owner you have every right to be alarmed, but before you decide to ditch your Chevrolet as redundant, perhaps you should examine a few important factors.
Read more on why Chevy chose to leave South Africa here
- Chevrolet will continue the after-sales and parts support until the end of 2017 for all Chevy customers
- Your Service Plan and Warranty will remain in place
- In 2018 and beyond, Isuzu will provide the service and after-sales support for all Chevy and Opel customers
- General Motors South Africa will help transition all Chevrolet dealers
- Your spare parts and service requirements will be taken over by Isuzu
Some memorable South African Chevy cars
Chevy Spark – the tiny car with big car attitude. Was always one of the top 10 selling vehicles.
Chevy Utility Bakkie – The Chevy Ute battled Nissans NP200 in the small sized utility vehicle and was always one of the top selling bakkies in South Africa.
Chevy Captiva – One of the nicest mid-sized SUV’s in the country.
Trailblazer – This went head-to-head against the likes of Toyota’s Fortuna, a tough act to beat.
http://citizen.co.za/news/news-national/1518629/how-general-motors-exit-from-sa-affects-you/
Alternatives for Chevy Service and Warranties
Thankfully Warranty Extender is able to offer a complete range of extended warranty and aftermarket service plans to keep your Chevrolet Spark, Captiva, Trailblazer, Ute or any Chevy in good shape for years to come. For up to 15 years actually! So no need to rush off and sell your Chevy at a reduced price just yet. It is and will continue to be a great car for years to come – just keep it maintained with a service plan and for your own peace of mind, get a warranty for “just in case”.
Why did Chevrolet leave South Africa?
Word from the US is that it was to improve their core Market, specifically the manufacturing and sales centres. Clearly South Africa represents a small slice of the pie and perhaps current stagnant sales figures and slow economy did little to help the South African division. General Motors insist that the decision was not made based on the recent credit ratings downgrade to Junk Status or by government policy, but you can’t help but wonder that if our country was in better hands with a buoyant economy then perhaps we would not have been such a slow mover in the first place. However, it is done.
Get a service plan quote here and an aftermarket warranty quote here
A Trailblazer with an Isuzu mu-X badge?
You might be mistaken for thinking that with the Trailblazer leaving our shores, Isuzu simply stepped in and slapped a MU-X badge of the back and called it their own – and you would be half right. The vehicles share the same platform, so at first glance they do look the same. The body panels are similar and window shapes are identical, but then you look a little closer and the Isuzu Mu-X sits higher off the ground compared to the Trailblazer. The Mu-X is also heavier, has the old 4 cylinder diesel that is found on the KB bakkies (so you know it’s reliable) and therefore generates less power that the younger Trailblazer. Both have 6 speed auto gearboxes, ventilated front disk brakes and can carry 7 passengers. The suspensions are also not identical, although very similar.
The Mu-X is quite ordinary looking whereas the Trailblazer definitely wins the Cool Factor badge. The Isuzu Mu-X can however still be purchased new from any Isuzu dealer in South Africa and comes with a 5 year/90 000km Service Plan. The Isuzu Care Package provides you with a 5 year/120 000km Warranty and Roadside Assistance.