Saab, Caddy CUVs Tap TE Platform

General Motors Corp. has created an all-new platform to support a cross/utility vehicle for Saab and Cadillac, entries that could be slated for the '10 model year.

The new platform, dubbed TE, is a combination of the Global Compact Crossover Architecture (Theta) and Global Midsize Vehicle Architecture (Epsilon).

The new TE will underpin the planned Saab 9-4X and Cadillac BRX CUVs, Ward's learns.

A strong candidate to build the new CUVs is the Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, plant. However, GM is not confirming any production location.

The CUVs likely will share line space with the Chevrolet HHR already in production at Ramos Arizpe, as well as the new Saturn Vue, slated to begin assembly in Mexico in April, says Global Insight analyst Rebecca Lindland.

“The accommodation of larger tires and a wider track was what drove (GM) toward combining (for) the larger platform,” Lindland says of the Vue. “They utilized componentry from Epsilon, but it still does remain a Theta platform.”

The '08 Vue is a rebadged Opel Antara, which is itself a modification of the Theta platform engineered by GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. in South Korea.