Chevrolet to Step It Up in Emerging Markets With New Vehicle Family

General Motors will bolster its Chevrolet brand’s arsenal for emerging markets with a new $5 billion investment in a new range of family vehicles to begin rolling out in the ʼ19 model year.

The new core architecture and engines planned will be jointly developed with GM’s partner in China, SAIC Motor. The joint project is expected to result in “significant development cost savings and optimized total vehicle cost,” the automaker says in a statement. A high level of parts localization is expected to fuel those savings.

The new platform is part of GM’s architecture consolidation program first announced in October that calls for the launch of four new global architectures between 2020 and 2025 that will cover the bulk of the automaker’s lineup. This single new architecture announced today is expected to account for more than 2 million vehicles annually once the full rollout is completed.

The vehicles will be manufactured and sold in several markets, including Brazil, China, India and Mexico, but there are no plans for the models to edge their way into Chevy’s U.S. lineup alongside the Cruze, Malibu and Impala.

Mark Reuss, GM executive vice president-Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain, tells WardsAuto there will be a range of gasoline and diesel engines for the new line that will replace a number of legacy products overseas that sell at different price points and under different regulations – “some not so well.

“This is a different approach,” he says. “(With) these, we’ll grow with the market. If we do it right, we will get longevity and a leadership position.”

The new lineup also will feature advanced technology focused on connectivity, safety and fuel efficiency, GM says.

“It will be a combination of content and value not offered previously by any automaker in these markets that are poised for growth,” Reuss says in a statement.

On hand at a Cadillac CTS-V media event in Elkhart Lake, WI, Reuss points to China as one example of an emerging-markets trend that has seen consumers now demanding up-to-date, world-class products. Automakers no longer can dump older models as lower-cost vehicles to sell alongside more state-of-the-art premium cars and trucks.

“As the country and marketplace (matures), you need (more volume) vehicles that can coexist with premium vehicles,” he says.

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