Big Chevy Gains In Germany
Opel is casting a wary eye at parent GM. GM unleashed Chevrolet in Europe. Nobody took it seriously until Chevrolet announced today that the bowtie brand sold 23 percent more Chevys in Opel’s home market Germany than in the first half of 2010. In the first 6 months of 2011, Chevrolet sold15,077 units in Germany.
The market share of Chevy remains minuscule in Germany: 0.9 percent. Opel commands a share of 8.1 percent, says Automobilwoche [sub]. Chevrolet is eyeing selling between 45,000 and 60,000 cars in Deutschland. In all of Europe, Chevrolet sold 251,820 units in the first six months.
If that stirs up your patriotic blood, take a deep breath: “The Chevys used to be called Daewoos and hail from South Korea,” says Automobilwoche. Chevrolet is selling them at bargain basement prices, which doesn’t make Opel happy.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Wasn't there a tiff between VW and Skoda over a similar issue? I think VW went all Hitler on Skoda.
If the Chevrolet Lacetti is good enough for Top Gear, it should be good enough for anybody.
@Pch101- A bit presumptuous for one with no experience in the car business! So you think you are much smarter than the leadership of GM? I forget that many here think they know a lot about topics of which they really have no understanding. The fact is that the Buick-GMC channel is very profitable in America, despite the fact that you "can't see any possible way". Buick outsells most other premium brands: Lexus,Cadillac,Acura,Infiniti,Lincoln, and probably makes a lot more money for GM than Civic does for Honda in America. Likewise, Mini is a relatively low ticket car, assuredly with low profit margins. The problem with your analysis is that it doesn't comprehend profit per unit. Current Buicks command much higher prices-the LaCrosse commands $8,000-$9,000 higher average transaction price than the prior model, for example. Pre-auto market collapse, Pontiac was outselling Buick around 2 to 1, but the Auto Task force made GM cancel the brand in favor of Buick because Pontiacs could not command high enough margins to support engineering and marketing costs associated with maintaining the brand. Similarly, GMC Sierra is the 4th best selling pickup, sometimes nipping at 3rd place Ram's heels while commanding around $3,000 more profit compared to Chevrolet Silverado. Thirty Three of the brands sold in this country would be delighted just to achieve Buick-GMC's sales volume, let alone the channels profitability. This is the truth about GM's mid-tier channel. trucks outsell the