General Motors will sell US-built Chevrolet sport-utility vehicles at Suzuki dealerships in Japan, renewing a bid to break into the world’s second-largest market after sales of a jointly produced car fell 44% short of targets, Bloomberg News reported.
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Bloomberg said GM would start selling the Trailblazer mid-size light truck through Suzuki dealers and the two companies expect to sell about 500 of the vehicles annually.
According to Bloomberg, GM is searching for roles for its Asian alliance partners, which include Suzuki and recently acquired assets of Korea’s Daewoo Motor Co. Investors say a return to joint sales efforts is cheaper and less risky for both General Motors and Suzuki than trying to produce new models together.
“I don’t really see much point in GM and Suzuki jointly developing models,” said Akihide Kinugawa, who helps manage 20 billion yen ($169 million) at T&D Asset Management, including shares in Nissan and Mazda, told Bloomberg News. “It’s a good idea for Suzuki to be under the umbrella of a large automaker as it’s increasingly difficult to stay independent at that size.”
General Motors and Suzuki had planned to sell about 20,000 units of the 1.3- and 1.5 litre Chevrolet Cruze compact a year in Japan, Bloomberg said. But sales of the new model reached only 11,088 in its first year as buyers opted instead for Honda’s Fit (Jazz) and Nissan’s March (Micra), which sold for about 20% less.
Cruze sales, in General Motors’ Auto World outlets are “not meeting our expectations by any stretch,” General Motors Asia-Pacific business president Fritz Henderson told Bloomberg News.
