Next Chevy Cruze Delayed For A Year Due to Engineering Changes and Strong Sales of Current Model

TTAC Staff
by TTAC Staff

Reuters is reporting that the next iteration of the Chevy Cruze, originally due at the end of 2014, will not go into production until December 2015, as a 2016 model year car.


The news was revealed when union leaders at a Canadian Auto Workers staffed supplier, Cooper Standard Automotive, told their members. As Chevy is currently rolling out a number of new models, by the end of 2013 the Cruze will be Chevrolet’s oldest model. The next gen Cruze is supposed to be all-new, inside and out, and GM says that it will have more interior and cargo space as well as better fuel economy. June sales figures show that the Cruze is currently the second best selling car in America, behind Toyota’s Camry, and U.S. sales for the first half of 2013 were up 17% to ~134,000 units. Since the Camry is a midsized car, that means the Cruze is the best selling compact car in the U.S. market.

Though General Motors declined comment on the report out of Canada, the CAW local leaders said that “engineering changes” forced the delays. GM doesn’t want to have a repeat of the lukewarm response to the redesigned 2013 Malibu, which itself is getting a rare second year refresh for 2014. According to a supplier, GM is taking the extra time on the Cruze to ensure that it “”does break through the clutter”, unlike the recent Malibu. According to Reuters’ sources “familiar with the company’s plans”, the current model’s strong sales are also a factor in the delay of the new model, with the car company trying to wring as much profit out of the car as possible, before they replace it. The strong sales allow GM to bank money and putting off the new Cruze also allows them to reallocate funds to products currently being or about to be launched.

GM says that the new Cruze will not be assembled in Korea, perhaps an indication that unlike the previous model based on a Korean (read Daewoo, which is now GM Korea) platform, the new Cruze is being designed and engineered a bit closer to the Lordstown, Ohio plant where it will be assembled for the North American market.

TTAC Staff
TTAC Staff

More by TTAC Staff

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 55 comments
  • Power6 Power6 on Jul 19, 2013

    This is big for GM, second best selling car and when the product is a couple years old. It means they brought out something with some lasting appeal. Now if they could do this with a mid sizer...

  • Chicagoland Chicagoland on Jul 20, 2013

    I was expecting most posts to be complaints of "GM delays again...". Good to see some common sense for once. It's not as if the current car is a 2003 Cavalier, one more year wont matter. Regarding wagons, the average family car is decided by a women 60%+ of the time. And they have said repeatedly to the hubby, "no way". So, no manual diesels 'estate cars' coming any time soon.

  • Joe This is called a man in the middle attack and has been around for years. You can fall for this in a Starbucks as easily as when you’re charging your car. Nothing new here…
  • AZFelix Hilux technical, preferably with a swivel mount.
  • ToolGuy This is the kind of thing you get when you give people faster internet.
  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)
Next