DETROIT – Chevrolet is on track to deliver full-year record global sales results, a top executive says today during a media event to mark the 100th anniversary of General Motors’ core brand.
GM says Chevy’s record year was 2007, when it sold 4,347,773 vehicles.
When the third-quarter tally is complete, Chevy expects to account for more than 3.5 million deliveries, says Chris Perry, vice president-global marketing and strategy for the bow-tie brand.
Every 6.7 seconds, Chevrolet sells a vehicle somewhere in the world, Perry says in a presentation with a decidedly global focus. Some 60% of the brand’s sales are outside the U.S., he adds.
Among the announcements with global implications:
- GM plans to launch a new family of 3- and 4-cyl. Ecotec gasoline engines that will replace three current engines. With displacements ranging from 1.0L-1.5L, the 83-hp mills are being developed with GM’s China-based partner, SAIC.
- An all-electric version of the Chevrolet Spark minicar will launch in 2013. Target markets include the U.S.
- A new Chevrolet Trailblazer cross/utility vehicle will debut next month at the Dubai auto show.
The news follows announcements made earlier this week, such as GM’s commitment to the U.S. small-pickup segment with the planned rollout of a next-generation Chevy Colorado and plans to produce “the world’s most-powerful convertible,” a 580-hp Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that goes on sale late in 2012.
The diversity of Chevrolet’s global portfolio reflects the vision of former GM Chairman Alfred Sloan, who promised to deliver “a car for every purse and purpose.”
Says Perry: “Customers in St. Petersburg, FL, can be quite different from those in St. Petersburg, Russia.” Similarly, consumer’ powertrain expectations vary according to factors such as fuel prices and duty cycle.
Jim Federico, GM chief engineer-electric vehicles, concedes GM envisions “slow growth” for EVs such as the pending Spark and the groundbreaking Chevrolet Volt that launched last year.
The driving public’s learning curve currently is holding back sales. For this reason, he adds, internal-combustion engines such as the new I-4 family will power “the majority” of vehicles on tomorrow’s roads.
