GM spectacularly blundered the Blazer EV’s launch by selling cars with debilitating software bugs and then issuing a stop-sale order, but the electric SUV is finally allegedly ready for consumers. GM even dropped the price of the Blazer EV as much as $6,520 for the LT AWD trim, but what does that mean for folks who bought a Blazer EV before the price reduction? According to Edmunds, which bought an early Blazer RS AWD, Chevy sent a bulletin to early buyers offering them reimbursement for the new price differential.
I was on the press drive for the Blazer EV RS, and my first complaint was the price. EVs often carry a hefty price for an array of reasons, but the Blazer RS AWD initially had a base price above $60,000, and the car did not offer a $60,000 driving experience — or ownership experience, apparently.
Thankfully, GM realized this and announced a price reduction when it lifted its stop sale order. If I was one of the people who bought an early Blazer EV, I would feel slighted by this post-hoc price reduction, but GM is rectifying this by offering reimbursements to customers who purchased a new Blazer EV before March 7, 2024. According to Edmunds,
”Chevrolet recently announced a new MSRP reduction on 2024 Blazer EVs,” the company wrote in its letter to customers. “As a result of this announcement, we would like to offer reimbursement to customers who purchased a new 2024 Blazer EV before March 7, 2024.”
Our $5,620 reimbursement applies to the Blazer RS AWD we bought for our long-term fleet, which originally had a base price of $60,215 and now costs $54,595. Folks who bought the base Blazer LT AWD, which initially had a base MSRP of $56,715, could receive up to $6,520 back, given the EV’s new starting price of $50,195 including destination.
It’s good to see that GM is giving customers this reimbursement, given that these early adopters overpaid, and then were basically turned into research and development employees when their Blazers started having software meltdowns. Notably, Tesla is known to drop its new car prices toward the end of fiscal quarters to boost its sales, but Tesla never offers reimbursement for buyers who missed out on the lower prices.
While I am glad to see that Chevy dropped the price of the Blazer EV, I still think it’s a big price to pay for a midsize crossover that’s riddled with GM’s signature cheap scratchy plastics. Aside from questionable materials, high price, and terrible software, the Blazer EV is still a comfortable, powerful, and spacious electric crossover.