Chevrolet Brand Dead In Europe
After talk of increasing the seperation between Chevrolet and Opel, GM has announced that it will axe the Chevrolet brand in Europe, despite previously aiming to make Chevrolet its low-cost brand, while signing a nine-year, $584 million deal to have the brand sponsor Manchester United football club.
Poor sales of Chevrolet were blamed as the major culprit, with volumes for the brand were estimated to be about 180,000 units, with the bulk of the models being rebadged Daewoos. Axing the brand will reportedly cost GM $1 billion. GM hasn’t said how it will handle the brand’s 1,900 strong dealer network, but Chevrolet will apparently remain in Russia, where its cars are somewhat more popular.
Not long ago, GM was busy touting Chevrolet as a “world brand”, one that could compete in Europe, despite unfavorable market conditions and an internal rivalry with Opel, which occupies roughly the same market space. There was even talk of an end to South Korea imports and production on the continent, but that dream is now over.
While certain models like the Corvette and Camaro will stay on, Chevrolet’s lack of success in Europe, combined with its attempt to move upmarket with products like the Cruze wagon, but it on a collision course with Opel, which is also struggling in a cutthroat, declining European car market.
More by Derek Kreindler
Comments
Join the conversation
Finally, a brilliant move from GM. Go to google uk, and look for Chevrolet brand awareness. Most of the entries are pontifications from the US about huge brand awareness - they must have been under consultancy contracts to GM, and decided to lick the boots of the sophisticated world travellers filling the high executive postions at GM World headquarters. This is a quote from Ralph, a UK motoring writer, though: " The biggest disappointment is Chevrolet brand awareness in the UK. Maybe it’s because they’re sold alongside the top-selling Vauxhall and the salespeople take the easy way. It’s a joke when punters walk into a Chevrolet showroom with the name plastered everywhere and they enquire about a Chrysler 300 Touring. But it’s not funny considering Chevrolet has probably been the most successful brand in motoring history. GM once was the biggest, most successful and profitable business in history and its #1 brand is Chevrolet. Chevrolet recently stood alone as the third most successful car brand. Historically it’s been #1. But car buyers in the UK know little about it." Honda, Nissan and Toyota don't sell many cars in the EU, because they're regarded as totally boring drives. Hyundai/Kia have been doing quite well. Daewoo was regarded as a joke just about everywhere globally, so anyone who actually noticed when Daewoo became Chevrolet just laughed their heads off. The disconnect between reality and the ideas percolating through the brains of senior GM management is amazing to see. It's like all the chest-thumping about Cadillac being competitive with the German luxo makes. In the US maybe. Nowhere else. Cadillac has what, four models? ATS, CTS, SRX and XTS plus some blinged out Chev truck. Not a diesel in sight. How many models does Mercedes have? About 20. Not a hope in the global market. 99% of the callow boasting is for domestic consumption to try and make Americans think that Cadillac is well-regarded around the world, even if that idea is a complete stretch of the facts. Say Cadillac in the UK and all anyone thinks of is Elvis and his '59. Say Chevrolet in the UK and people's minds go blank, so GM might just as well pull out of the market, because it's been an utter waste of time and money.
Maybe now we will stop getting crap products meant to appeal to Europeans. Obviously GM is going to be selling crap in Europe, that's what people buy in Europe, why even waste time bringing stuff that's half decent when crap sells? Although what happens to corvettes and camaros?
Well, so much for See the Alps today in your Chevrolet The Austrians are waiting for your cash.
the Mokka is built by former Daewoo, right? So some opel cars are actually EU-Chevy's....Add a few popular ones (spark & captiva) to the opel brand and all is well. Oh wait, captiva is already there.