GM South Africa’s Struandale plant in Port Elizabeth has built 200,000 Opel Corsa-based Chevrolet utilities.
“Chevrolet utility has been a winner in all aspects since introduction into this market from quality to performance and sales. The 200,000 units produced in the last 15 years represent a significant milestone for a vehicle which is unique to the South African and South American markets,” said sales and marketing head Malcolm Gauld.
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The utility, now in its third generation, was first built in Port Elizabeth in 1997. The first generation was known as the Corsa utility.
The second generation, also called Corsa, followed in 2004. It led segment sales for seven years in row with 45% share.
The third generation Chevrolet, introduced to the South African market at the end of 2011, continued its predecessor’s success achieving record market share of 55.4% in the first eight months of 2012.
There are nine models including a 1.3 litre 55kW diesel engine, 68 kW 1.4 litre petrol engine and the range topping 77 kW 1.8 litre engine.
“The introduction of the third generation Chevrolet Utility marked the completion of the first phase of our SAR1bn investment to upgrade our production facilities at Struandale,” noted managing director Edgar Lourencon.
