Corvette C6 branding in Europe

[md11]

I have a very simple question for those enthusiasts that pay attention to this sort of details.

As far as I know, when the C6 generation of the Corvette came out in 2004, it was branded as a "Corvette" in Europe because of the cheap image of the Chevrolet brand still dealing with the Daewoo brand legacy and its ageing portfolio.
The main difference in this was that Chevrolet dealers couldn't sell the Corvette which in turn was sold at Cadillac/Saab dealers as with the C5 (which was a Chevrolet worldwide as far as I know).

Now the C7 is definitely branded as a Chevrolet, but I found some articles on the internet dating back to 2010 saying that the Corvette brand was soon to be replaced with Chevrolet in Europe as well.

The question is, did this happen in 2010 or only with the new C7? Even if at autoshows the C6 was exhibited next to the various regular Chevrolets, I tend to think the C6 was never branded as a Chevrolet.

Thanks in advance.

[Revo]

I guess they did drop that silly branding nonsense after all.

German MY2013 brochure says it loud and proud: Chevrolet Corvette.

[Ferrer]

Don't quote me on that, but I think the change was done when the Camaro was introduced in Europe.

The Camaro has always been sold through Chevrolet dealers.

This also coincided with the cancellation of the diesel CTS and the rethink of the Cadillac strategy in Europe, with most dealers closing down.

[md11]

Thank you both.
2010 was indeed the year GM introduced the European version of the 5th gen Camaro, so I guess that's when the Corvette line was brought into the Chevrolet portfolio as both models (Camaro and Corvette) would have gained from this.

On the other hand, this is a particular day as GM apparently announced there won't be a Chevrolet brand in Europe by 2015.
Which brings back the question on how they plan to sell both the Corvette and the Camaro (assuming the 6th gen will be sold here as well) now that they don't have any sort of an upscale brand/dealer network after both Cadillac and Saab went off the map.

It was about time though that they realized the marginal difference in price between Opels and Chevrolets. They tried to move Opel upscale adding a lot of options which made an Astra even more expensive than an A3, but that wasn't the right strategy for sure. I wonder what will happen to the Cruze, meaning to the slightly cheaper sister of the Astra.

[henk4]

On the other hand, this is a particular day as GM apparently announced there won't be a Chevrolet brand in Europe by 2015.

So all the efforts to re-brand Daewoos as a Chevrolet, ultimately are in vain? Are we getting the Daewoos again, or will the Sparks be gone forever?

[Cobrafan427]

Another interesting little detail would be to look at a European Corvette's badge and see if it still has the little Chevy bowtie on one of the flags.

The Camaro would have an even bigger badging issue, the bowtie on there is humangous big (internet cookie to whoever knows who i quoted by spelling humongous wrong)

[Ferrer]

On the other hand, this is a particular day as GM apparently announced there won't be a Chevrolet brand in Europe by 2015.
Which brings back the question on how they plan to sell both the Corvette and the Camaro (assuming the 6th gen will be sold here as well) now that they don't have any sort of an upscale brand/dealer network after both Cadillac and Saab went off the map.

It was about time though that they realized the marginal difference in price between Opels and Chevrolets. They tried to move Opel upscale adding a lot of options which made an Astra even more expensive than an A3, but that wasn't the right strategy for sure. I wonder what will happen to the Cruze, meaning to the slightly cheaper sister of the Astra.

Serendipity?

Just as you were asking when did GM start branding Corvettes and Camaros as Chevrolets they announce that they are withdrawing Chevrolet from Europe. Curious.

Corvettes and Camaros will continue to be sold though, possibly through the Cadillac dealer network, which apparently will be revamped too.

Is withdrawing Chevrolet from Europe a good idea? I don't know, to be honest. The good thing about mainstream Chevrolets in Europe, though, is that they were bargains compared to the competition, which afforded them a sizeable market share.

With them gone they won't be direct to Opel sales, as they appealed to the different customers, but nevertheless Opel will be able to have more resources at their disposal (Cadillac Europe too) which could help them improve results.

By the way, there's rumour that says that GM is also planning to close Holden down for good in 2016...

By the way, Pieter, I don't think we will get any of the current Chevrolet range in any form when it is finally phased out in 2015.

[pimento]

I wonder if they'll try to merge the Daewoo based platforms/products into the Opel based ones. Seems like there's some synergising to be done there anyway. Maybe leverage some of the various paradigms to form one cohesive whole.

Or something.

[Kitdy]

Nice wordings pim.

Daewoo. That's who. I will not forget those ads anytime soon.

[md11]

The Spark never managed to achieve the same success as the Matiz, but then again the Matiz' replacement was long overdue and eventually the wait deteriorated the image. Switching to a new name was another terrible idea, at least in Europe.

The Cruze revived for a couple of years the small sedan market, but it didn't last. The estate variant is possibly absent from the streets, same for the 5-doors model. As a matter of fact, it was only two days ago that I've seen my first 5-doors Mitsubishi Lancer, and it wasn't bad at all, but I've seen more multi million dollars cars in the same period of time. How about that.

What should Opel do now?
Have an entry level city car, something between the Agila and the Spark, keep the Adam if they really think they can sell some, have lower trims of the Astra cost a bit less, probably no need for a sedan version, keep the Insignia just because, and have the next gen Antara available also as a 7-seater. As for the Mokka, it's probably cannibalizing the Adam market. Small, "cool" and expensive cars. Doesn't matter one is not an SUV and that the other never pretended to be one, it's not on the job description (see the three words above).

That's basically a German Fiat, except for the cannibalizing bit so far and the fact they did realize there is presently no need for a flagship sedan or wagon, an SUV or crossover is all you need. Unfortunately.

[Kitdy]

Outside of Germany and Britain, how much does one see and how well does Opel/Vauxhall do? I see a metric s-word ton of Vauxhalls in Britain but have not crossed the channel to the continent and do not know sales numbers. Which reminds me, I semi-reliably see Canadian and US market sales numbers; any of y'all got a good source for the Europe?

My thoughts on Chevy in Europe is that they must have been at or near the very bottom of the pekking order with cars like the Matiz and Spark. There are other valueist (if we are going to use Ferrer's new car terminology scheme... So I guess we gotta use premiumist manufacturers too?! Or luxuriest!?) carmakers that would come first on a shoppers list than an American brand with tons of cars designed and built by the bad Korean car maker.

[Ferrer]

This how the Spanish sales chart looks, updated to November 2013.

Brands Units %12/13 YTD %12/13
SEAT 3738 0,9 54 772 8,4
Volkswagen 4010 21,0 51 458 0,2
Peugeot 3717 4,0 49 233 -3,4
Renault 3951 18,9 48 530 5,5
Opel 3539 4,5 46 717 3,5
Citroën 3135 -20,3 42 114 -13,4
Ford 3380 32,5 38 158 -10,5
Nissan 2656 7,9 31 221 -0,9
Toyota 2976 31,3 29 770 -1,4
Audi 1571 -6,4 25 817 1,1
Mercedes-Benz 1810 45,0 20 296 18,1
Hyundai 1452 -30,2 19 527 10,3
FIAT 1457 37,6 19 287 28,7
BMW 1198 -22,1 17 211 3,8
Dacia 1881 122,6 17 048 67,1
KIA 1163 45,4 12 383 28,8
Skoda 1020 57,2 11 311 -1,1
Chevrolet 620 -19,2 9217 -25,9
MINI 528 11,6 6943 2,6
Volvo 320 -5,3 3611 -4,7
Honda 225 8,2 3222 -10,8
Mazda 343 100,6 2786 7,2
Alfa Romeo 162 -30,8 2782 -14,5
smart 106 -0,9 2229 -1,0
Lexus 179 58,4 1506 -2,1
Lancia 108 -24,5 1492 -13,1
Suzuki 108 12,5 1063 -13,3
Jaguar 81 22,7 802 1,5
SsangYong 42 -17,6 752 39,3
Subaru 64 16,4 684 -5,7
TATA 47 30,6 549 100,4
Porsche 38 -25,5 440 -3,5
Landwind 0 - 161 -
Mitsubishi 20 -13,0 144 9,9
Infiniti 3 -40,0 42 -46,8
Ferrati 3 50,0 35 -25,5
Maserati 2 100,0 22 15,8
Aston Martin 1 -50,0 22 22,2
Bentley 1 - 19 -17,4
Lada 0 - 5 -16,7
Garbi 0 - 3 -
McLaren 0 - 3 -50,0
Dodge 0 - 3 -57,1
Lotus 0 - 3 50,0
Chrysler 1 - 2 -85,7
Lamborghini 1 0,0 2 -71,4
Rolls Royce 1 - 2 0,0
Morgan 0 - 2 -33,3
Caterham 0 - 2 -
PGO 0 -100,0 2 100,0
Cadillac 0 - 1 0,0
Spyker 0 - 1 -
Buick 0 - 1 -
Daihatsu 0 - 1 -66,7

Source: km77.com. As va el mercado.

(BTW, this a reliable source for Spanish car sales)

Opel is relatively big player (5th), but bear in mind Opel has a big plant in Figueruelas, so that affects the sales numbers too.

As for Chevrolet they aren't that important, at least in Spain. Mainly Aveos and Cruzes, but that's about it. Unveiling the Cruze as a saloon-only range didn't help either. Oh, and yesterday I saw a Malibu! They are as a popular as the Suzuki Kizashi...

Chevrolet's market positioning is cheap, basic transportation. Not quite to Dacia's levels, but just above.

[crisis]

By the way, there's rumour that says that GM is also planning to close Holden down for good in 2016...

Holden chief executive Mike Devereux says no decision has been made about the future of its car manufacturing operation in Australia.
“Mr Devereux told the Productivity Commission that the cost of losing the car manufacturing industry would dwarf the cost of keeping it, and warned of the disastrous effect Holden's withdrawal would have on the economy.
"The economic benefit of us making things is $33 billion to the Australian economy," he said.
"That's 18 times the assistance we receive."
Mr Devereux said every job in the automotive industry created two to three others in the wider economy.
He told the commission it costs the company $3,750 per car, or around $300 million extra per year, to manufacture cars in Australia.
"We have one of the most unprotected markets on the planet.
"Is the cost of labour higher here than it is in Asia? Of course it is ... it's one of the challenges we have to overcome, but it's not the only driver of why things cost more to make here."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-1...culati/5145614

I can’t see it surviving despite the cost to our economy if it goes. There are two linked but distinctively different issues here. One is propping up an American company with public money and the there is hanging onto an industry that employs people far beyond the fences of Holden’s factories. That together with the fact that those industries that support Holden are able to leverage off of their sales there to also supply other markets.
The previous support was by the way of import credits so there was no actual outlay of cash, merely the government did not collect import duties on parts destined to be used in Australian built cars. I can’t help thinking that if it costs $3,750 per car extra to manufacture here we the government should subsidies that difference perhaps upon purchase to consumers. Of course Australia seem to want to be leaders in free trade when in reality we are not economically powerful enough to do it.

[pimento]

According to the internet the decision has been made, they just don't want to tell us yet.

[Ferrer]

How big is the Australian car market?

Also, Fisler will be very happy if both the Falcon and Commodore disappear at once. With the 300/Charger they could have winner.