Chevrolet plans to maintain at least a small presence in Europe, despite this week’s announcement that it will pull out in the wake of a poor reception for a brand traditionally seen as classically American.
The Corvette, in particular, will continue to be sold on the Continent even after the Chevrolet distribution network is shut down, TheDetroitBureau.com was advised.
“Vette and some other iconic Chevrolets (to be named later) will still be sold thru Opel or Cadillac dealers. They will be marketed as Chevrolets,” explained Mike Albano, Chevy’s chief spokesman in the U.S., explained by e-mail.
Thursday’s announcement of a Chevy pull-out came just months after the marque’s European chief Susan Docherty resigned from General Motors. Chevy has long been focused on the Americas, North and South, but GM had hoped to transform it into a unifying global brand. Indeed, Chevrolet has been selling nearly two-thirds of its products outside the home U.S. market in recent years. But after an initial growth spurt in Europe in the earlier years of the new millennium, demand tapered off.
(For more on Chevy’s European pull-out, Click Here.)
There had been speculation that GM might try to turn Chevrolet into its mainstream European brand, especially as it considered selling off control of Opel around the time of its U.S. bankruptcy in 2009. But with the decision to keep the German-based Opel, and with preliminary signs that the latest turnaround plan might finally be gaining traction, GM apparently decided to rethink its Chevy strategy.
With Opel and Chevy competing against one another, rather than targeting tough competitors such as Volkswagen, the decision was made to pull out. Said GM CEO Dan Akerson, “Europe is a key region for GM that will benefit from a stronger Opel and Vauxhall and further emphasis on Cadillac. For Chevrolet, it will allow us to focus our investments where the opportunity for growth is greatest.”
The announcement has raised concerns about what might happen to Corvette’s launch in Europe. Earlier versions of the sports car have had a presence in Europe for some years, even before the Chevrolet brand itself was introduced to the market. So, in a sense, GM will simply going to go back to the way things were handled in early times.
(Balancing new and old with the 2015 Ford Mustang. Click Here for a closer look.)
Nonetheless, this week’s announcement that Chevy will leave Europe, “could create some market confusion,” cautioned Stephanie Brinley, an auto analyst with IHS Automotive. “It’s a communications issue they are going to have to manage.”
Brinley is betting that the small cadre of potential Corvette buyers will quickly learn that the so-called C7 model is still coming to Europe, though, “the question will be where you’ll be able to find one.”
That’s one of the things GM is apparently working to sort out. Also to be firmed up are plans for other “iconic” Chevy models that might yet remain in Europe – or even be introduced there at later dates. The likelihood is that GM will focus on special niche models – at least by European standards – that could include the likes of a Camaro or even the new SS performance car.
