Shanghai GM is launching the Chevrolet Captiva SUV in China at the at Auto Shanghai 2011.
Chevrolet’s global growth is predicted to accelerate by owner General Motors. China sales will lead the way, of course, in the world’s largest and most robust auto market. Another growth plus is the addition of the Korean market, where Chevrolet has just replaced GM Daewoo as GM’s main brand in what was largely a badge engineering exercise.
The latest Chevrolet expansion bodes ill for the future of Opel/Vauxhall. These old world brands, steeped in history and baggage, will increasingly be relegated to regional European labels – until they can be rationalized – someday – under the Chevrolet Bow Tie.
The logic for the continuing consolidation of Opel/Vauxhall and even GM’s Australian Holden is compelling, both for financial and marketing efficiencies. Last year, Chevrolet was the only top-five global vehicle brand to increase total market share.
Chevrolet now sells roughly 5.8% of all vehicles sold worldwide. Chevrolet sales increases continued in the first three months of 2011, as Chevrolet recorded double-digit sales gains compared the same period last year in four of its five top markets:
- In the United States, Chevrolet sold 416,505 vehicles in the quarter, an increase of 23%. In February, Chevrolet was the highest-volume brand in the U.S. market, albeit with the heavy use of incentives in the U.S., which now has Ford responding. Both brands have roughly $3,000 on the hood in rebates or low interest rates on every vehicle sold.
- In China, Chevrolet sold a record 159,303 vehicles in the quarter, an increase of 17%.
- In Brazil, Chevrolet sold 142,734 vehicles in the quarter, a decrease of 9% from the brand’s record-setting sales in the first quarter of 2010.
- In Mexico, Chevrolet sold 37,291 vehicles in the quarter, an increase of 12%.
- In Argentina, Chevrolet sold 34,103 vehicles in the first quarter, an increase of 21%. Chevrolet set three consecutive sales records in the South American country, recording the brand’s best January, February and March sales.
- In Europe, Chevrolet sold 112,482 vehicles in the first quarter, an increase of 7%. During that time, Chevrolet gained market share in nine European markets as the brand doubled sales in Denmark and Turkey, and increased sales in France and Russia by 80% and 51%, respectively.
GM’s U.S. Treasury appointed Board of Directors in November of 2009 rejected the sale of Opel/Vauxhall to Canadian auto supplier Magna and Sberbank, a large Russian financial institution, largely because the new owners wanted to use the Opel brand to expand in Eastern Europe and Asia – in direct conflict with GM’s long-term Chevrolet global expansion plans.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel – who now refuses to support U.S. and NATO efforts in the ongoing Libyan war – and the German Metal Workers union were pushing the deal. At the time the Magna sale was thought to protect more jobs and plants in Germany, while imposing greater burdens on Opel/Vauxhall operations elsewhere in Europe, than a competing bid from a Belgium based investment group.
