Your Next Cruze From Poland?

by Bertel Schmitt

June 13th, 2013 8:37 AM

GM says it’s not true (yet) what Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports today. The paper says it has it on good authority that by 2014, GM will move production of its Chevrolet Cruze from South Korea to the Opel plant in Gliwice, Poland.“There has been no decision made about where the next generation Cruze will be built,” a spokesman for Chevrolet Europe told Reuters,

The FAZ maintains good contacts with the labor side of Opel’s board, and it has been a grateful recipient of many interesting Opel leaks in the past. The paper cites an internal production plan as the source.

”Speculation of such a move is nothing new, especially after the U.S. carmaker confirmed the next generation model due in late 2014 would not be built in South Korea,” harrumphs Reuters. According to the wire,

“Gliwice would be a natural candidate for budget brand Chevrolet. It is the only low-cost Opel plant in Europe and it also builds the Cruze sibling compact Opel Astra. Both cars could likely be built on one assembly line with a minimum of additional investment.”

Korean unions threatened to “wage a war” if that happens. GM and the Korean unions are in wage talks, and the leaks could also be part of a shadow war of disinformation. FUD is SOP in these negotiations.

#BertelSchmitt #Cruze #GM #Korea #Opel #Poland

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8 comments

Gentle Ted on Jun 13, 2013

Probably a good move by GM, after all they need to keep Workers in Poland and in the European Union happy! I thought the Cruze that we see here in North America is built in Michigan????

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- Tomifobia on Jun 13, 2013
  
  No, it's built in Lordstown, Ohio, at the same plant that will build its replacement. GM announced that last August.
  
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- Vance Torino on Jun 13, 2013
  
  @Tomifobia Lordstown is safe for NA production. Might you import some special "Gliwice Edition" Cruze wagons, tho? Brown. Manual transmissions.
  
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- Jimbob457 on Jun 14, 2013
  
  @Vance Torino Mmmmmmmmmm.. LORDSTOWN. Sacred ground and the very birthplace of the Chevy Vega.
  
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Tankinbeans on Jun 13, 2013

From what I can tell, the only GM products for the NA market built in S. Korea are the Spark and that ugly Buick.

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- Jimbob457 on Jun 14, 2013
  
  I think the ugly Buick is, in reality, just built for the Chinese market. It is only sold in North America so GM can brag that they are also sold in North America. Who can say for sure that maybe the thing might not catch on here? Last Vegas line on that was 10 to 1 against. Way better than nothing. Altogether, a pretty clever idea assuming you can actually convince the Chinese consumer that their particular vehicle, designed and built in Korea, meets the same build quality, emission and safety standards as are necessary to compete in North America. The increasingly corrupt Chinese government leaves just a bit to be desired in enforcing standards in some of these areas. I recently test drove one. It really is an excellent vehicle assuming you live in a crowded world where the tallest person you know is 5'11" .
  
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Forraymond on Jun 13, 2013

SO WHAT? The Poles need work, too.

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Gentle Ted on Jun 14, 2013

The Chevy Vega did not have a good outlook on its manufacturing place in Lordstown Ohio,hopefully this doesn't rub off on the Cruze? Question was it the Workers or the Engineers who planned this Auto Maker?

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