General Motors chief Dan Akerson said that Chevrolet brand models will be built in Europe at some point in the future although he did not indicate when that might be.
He told a meeting with analysts in Detroit: “We need probably to start manufacturing Chevrolets in Europe at some point in time. That’s on the strategic ‘What should we do? list’.”
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Most Chevrolet models sold in Europe are made in South Korea although the Cruze has recently gone into production in Russia. High-performance models like Corvette and Camaro are imported from North America.
Chevrolet sold 477,000 cars in Europe last year, giving it a 2.5% market share. Its top five markets were Russia, Uzbekistan, Italy, France and Germany. Chevrolet Europe President Wayne Brannon has targeted 1m sales in Europe by 2016.
GM marketing chief Joel Ewanick told analysts that Chevrolet and Cadillac are GM’s only global brands and there is room for Chevrolet to grow in Europe along with Opel.
Last year Chevrolet accounted for 61% of GM’s global sales, a figure Ewanick said will grow to 65% by 2016. Opel accounted for 13% of GM’s total in 2010, a figure Ewanick expects to grow.
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