Chevrolet to disappear from Europe...

[CYMR0]

... announces GM.

So no more Cruze, Aveo, and the rest. To be honest it's a shame but given the lacklustre marketing, CO2 figures, finance deals - and product (which is secondary at this end of the market) it's probably not surprising.

What it does mean is that if Hyundai and Kia can make a profit out of selling decent Korean cars here, Chevrolet should have too.

It's disappointing because it means less choice and less chance of a decent car brand coming through in future.

I doubt very much that Chevrolet was cannibalising any Opel/Vauxhall sales either.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20131205/COPY01/31...

[HustleRussell]

Good riddance. Awful re-hashes of already out-dated designs.

[tbc]

they were always referred to as Daewoo by many people

is that not a bit stupid considering they've just signed a sponsorship deal

with the 9th team in the Premier League

[sparkyhx]

tbc said:

is that not a bit stupid considering they've just signed a sponsorship deal

with the 9th team in the Premier League

There's probably wriggle room in the contract to market another GM brand, I would have thought a spnsorship deal would be decided at board level and the board would know whthat a pull out was on the cards.......then again it could be case of one hand not knowing what the others is doing.

Is there a timeline on the pull out?

the only people I think will miss them is car hire firms

[anonymous-user]

HustleRussell said:

Good riddance. Awful re-hashes of already out-dated designs.

None of their current line-up is actually a re-hash, boring yes! I think their biggest problem is the name! most people associate Cheverolet with American cars and not cheap little korean shopping trollies.

[CrowCrow00]

I thought GM wanted them to eventually replace Vauxhall? I thought the Spark was a nice little car

[eldar]

HustleRussell said:

Good riddance. Awful re-hashes of already out-dated designs.

Indeed.

Drove my Chevy to the levee.

Then drove away as everyone laughed...

[scruggs]

I have a two year old Captiva. Guess I had better go outside and put a match to it as no one will want to buy one secondhand.

[dazwalsh]

scruggs said:

I have a two year old Captiva. Guess I had better go outside and put a match to it as no one will want to buy one secondhand.

Its a shame, I actually quite like the new Captiva both inside and out, id certainly take one over a quashqaiuouy or however its spelled

[Nealio]

I had a Chevy Sonic over in the states, the saloon version of the Aveo hatchback we get over here.

Coldest aircon I've ever experienced.

That's all I have to add to the discussion.

[Ozzie Osmond]

You have to admit - it was a marketing strategy of which Dani Bahar could be proud!

Take the American brand best known globally for rip-snorting V8 sportscars and stick the name on some scrofulous little yoghurt pots from the far east. That's bound to sell lots of cars...

See also - Aston Martin Cygnet.

[CYMR0]

Thing is if you look at the range:

Spark - sold in the US (for some reason...)
Aveo - likewise, but called the Sonic
Cruze - mainly for the US market
Captiva - the US gets a version, but it's smaller than ours (it's the same as the Vauxhall Antara).

We don't get Malibu, Impala, Camaro or any of the big SUVs.

So while people might recognise the name from big V8s, the reality is that Chevy also sells a fair selection of scrofulous little yoghurt pots in the US.

[247RPM]

I believe they are continuing to sponsor Man Utd as a)they aren't pulling out till Q4 2015 and b)Man Utd are massive in China, as are Chevy, so it is an extremely useful marketing tool for their far East divisions.

[Hub]

I actually think that they aren't really on many people's radar when buying a car. That and a very uninspiring range!

[thepeoplespal]

Had a Chevrolet Orlando on hire in Mallorca, big old bus on the outside, relatively small on the inside, even if it was a 7 seater, could easily have had better usage of space. It was very frugal, comfortable enough, but not something to lust over. Not being lusted after is their problem, bland approved and designed by committee, cars that are a product of the GM machine desperately trying not to step on the toes of other GM brands.

[Sir Fergie]

thepeoplespal said:

Had a Chevrolet Orlando on hire in Mallorca, big old bus on the outside, relatively small on the inside, even if it was a 7 seater, could easily have had better usage of space. It was very frugal, comfortable enough, but not something to lust over. Not being lusted after is their problem, bland approved and designed by committee, cars that are a product of the GM machine desperately trying not to step on the toes of other GM brands.

I think weve hit on the problem right there - the GM machine.

To me - GM are utterly bizarre in how they approach car making - with too much focus on "brand" and not enough on producing very good cars.

They fked up Saab, now they've been unable to make Chevrolet work in Europe, oh and Opel/Vauxhall was in trouble as well a couple of years ago.

I hate GM with a passion personally - but part of that is down to how they massively fked up Saab.

Won't miss Chevy in Europe - id almost forgot they were still here - because GM would never have made a proper go of Chevy in Europe anyway.

[Kolbenkopp]

Ozzie Osmond said:

You have to admit - it was a marketing strategy of which Dani Bahar could be proud!
Take the American brand best known globally for rip-snorting V8 sportscars and stick the name on some scrofulous little yoghurt pots from the far east. That's bound to sell lots of cars...

Totally agree, and that at just the moment people were starting to trust the quality of the new Asian brands. Stupid really. IMO Chevy here is perceived as a) the Corvette b) trucks and other gas guzzling land yachts. Stupid idea really to go with that brand for entry level kit in Europe.

[williamp]

I remember reading autocar and they said they had huge ambitions for Europe with the brand. They couldn't make Daewoo work. Nor Cadillac. Then Saab. Now Chevrolet Europe. Not a good success story

[skyrover]

Stick with Opel and Vauxhall and introduce the "world" cars as ford are doing under these brand names.

[KTF]

skyrover said:

Stick with Opel and Vauxhall and introduce the "world" cars as ford are doing under these brand names.

Look on buick, etc and you will see a lot of their European models with a different badge.

Verano - Astra Saloon
Regal - Insignia
Encore - Antara

Chevy was always meant to be the rival to Skoda or similar but I suspect it ended up eating into too many Vauxhall/Opel sales so the cuckoo had to be killed off.