With all of the shifts hard at work assembling Chevrolet Cruzes (Cruzen?) at Lordstown,OH, you would think that Chevrolet dealers in the United States can’t keep their latest compact sedan in stock. As it turns out, it doesn’t seem to be the case.
Despite being the new kid on the block with the fanciest bells and whistles, the Chevrolet Cruze is trailing far behind the segment leaders in monthly sales. For instance, the Cruze only sold 8,066 vehicles last month while the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic each managed to see over 16,000 sales in the same time frame. Yikes.
However, it should be noted that even though the sales volume is roughly half of its import brand rivals, the Cruze does have our seal of approval and we’re not sure why consumers even bother with anything else in the segment. The quality, refinement and technology we found in the Cruze we tested cannot be found anywhere else in its class — for now.
With the looming threat of the all-new Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra as well as a new Civic coming early next year, General Motors has very limited time to connect with the masses that represent the compact market and show that the Cruze is currently the undisputed segment leader. So far, the Cruze has only managed to make 5 percent of the entire demographic’s wish list.
Source: The Detroit Free Press
Comments
Your November sales numbers for Cruze are wrong: Chevy sold over 8,000 Cruzes in November. Even the FREEP article you link to says 8,000.
And while this is still only about 50% of the Civic and Corolla numbers, the car is just getting started so give it a chance. I’d wager a guess that the Chevy Vega more than doubled up Honda Civic sales in 1972-1973, the first year the Civic was sold in the US, and we all know where that “battle” ended.
And by the way, those first generation Civics were subject to numerous safety recalls and rusted so bad that nearly a million of those built between 1972 and 1979 were repaired or bought back by Honda Motor.
Thanks for pointing out the typo, we took care of it.
Corolla, Civic, et al. took decades to dominate the market, if GM had called the Cruze Chevy II or Corvair and had done so for deacades with clall leading product there would be twenty thousand unit months, give it 5 years to a decade, and do’nt change the name; you’ll see, we will dominate the segment.
That’s a good point, Jason. I, however, hope that the Cruze will be the #1 in its class – as it deserves. For too long, the likes of the Civic and Corolla have dominated that segment. Let’s hope the Cruze will be as much a winner on paper as it is inside/outside/mechanically.
Alex Luft
Founder, GM Authority
Please delete this article. Sure only 8,000 Cruzes were sold in November. The problem with harping on that fact is that ONLY 9,000 were made! Seriously, this is the type of irresponsible reporting that will make people shy away from the vehicle because they read this and think it must not be as nice.
Dan – I’m not sure what you’re referring to when you speak of “irresponsible reporting.” The FACT is that the Cruze barely sold more than 8,000 units in November. There’s no arguing that and – hence – no “irresponsible reporting.” We’re an INDEPENDENT GM fan site – and our purpose is to report facts (and sometimes opinion) – not to sell GM products.
As for the fact that GM only made 9,000 Cruzen – my question is the following: “whose fault is that?” At the end of the day, the income statement (and investors) doesn’t differentiate between the reasons for having been outsold. In fact, I’m a strong believer that it’s just that type of thinking that got GM into trouble in the first place (over the last decade). Every little problem/issue/mishap had an excuse attached to it. Everything had a “but” or a “because.”
That said, I’m not sure that people will shy away from the Cruze after hearing that it’s not the segment sales leader… yet (if they hear that at all). GM Authority readers know their cars – and they know that the Cruze is the cream of the crop in its segment (right now). So, if the problem for the rather disappointing sales is, in fact, manufacturing capacity, then I’m sure people will have no problem heading down to their local Chevy dealer, checking out and driving the car, and then putting pressure on the dealer to order more of these awesome machines. Right? Or am I off? Let me know!
Alex Luft
Founder, GM Authority
It’ll catch on, I just test drove one last week and it was amazing. Problem is that my local dealer was kinda hiding them. I drive by it almost every day, and I by glancing at the lot during a drive by I thought they didn’t have any, turns out they had 6. They just had them hidden behind the Malibu for some reason.
My sales guy told me he’d been trying to get on the lot manager to move the cars so that the Cruze would be visible, but it has yet to be done as they are still hidden behind the Malibu. Had I not contacted the internet sales manager I would have never known that they had the Cruze in stock.lol
The car salesmen are so proud of the Cruze though. He was so excited to show me the car. He was telling me how happy he and the other salesmen are to not have to sell the Cobalt anymore. Give it some time, it needs more exposure on the lots and on the media scene, but I know it’ll catch on, it’s a great product.
My point Alex is that 9,000 Cruze’s were made, is that to little, maybe, but allocation of recourses, production levels, and the number of shifts at Lords town is not what I’m arguing. Of the 9,000 made over 8,000 were sold that’s just under 90%. While the Corolla and Civic sold more (and not to mention are the long standing leaders in the segment) how many were made? 17,000? 20,000? 50,000? If the number is 20+, then I would say that demand is not nearly as high as that of the Cruze. So yes it is a misleading head line. And I know you did not compile this data yourself but it needs to be noted that for the first full month of sales the Cruze sold 90% of stock is impressive to me.
An average American doing a search on a Cruze may come across your article and infer it might not be that nice. Its not impossible to think that someone would take something at face value, I mean people keep dating Paris Hilton just based on her looks…
Hah, nice analogy. I see your point but still think that it’s GM’s problem (not mine or yours) in regards to the (low) amount of Cruzen manufactured. When analysts on CNN, MSNBC, WSJ, New York Times, etc. break out the good-ol’ market share pie chart, the Cruze will have about half the market share of its most direct competitors (Corolla, Civic, Sentra, etc.). And – after seeing this chart – that same average “American” that you refer to will be led to believe that the Cruze is an inferior product since it’s not selling in as high amounts as its rivals. So that average American will think twice about investing in GM, since he will have reservations about the strength of the Chevy product portfolio as it relates to the competition.
At the end of the day, Toyota is able to make the claim that it’s #1 in the compact sedan (by volume), while Chevy isn’t. The “whys” don’t matter here – even if they’re an important factor to consider when analyzing the sales figures.
– Alex
Founder, GM Authority
@ Dan:
Real quick question: do you have anywhere you can point us so we can see the production figures for ourselves? Our emails to the PR department are left with no reply.
Yes, it was in the report, that was posted on GM inside news forum. I can’t find it but its on there!
I believe GM is pleased with the sales of the Cruze right now. Its a nice vehicle but the pricing is darn close to the malibu which is in its last year or so of production before being redone..
As a consumer…I’ve shopped both the Cruze and the Malibu and I have to tell you with GM’s incentives…being larger on the malibu lately…
I’d be hard pressed to buy a cruze over a malibu..
Could that be part of the issue?
I was intrigued by the leasing deals emailed to me so I took a quick look and drive..
The malibu cost the same for me to lease as the cruze ..
I thought I might buy one of these instead of buying snow tires for my vette…but then I remember all the years theres not much snow here anyway so why even bother..
Just for the record…the lease deal for the malibu would have cost me no money down and less than my monthly cable bill! LOL
(3 grand in Bonus points) and 135 dollars a month lease for 39 months…
Between the cruze or the malibu…? the malibu wins out….IMO
@JBsC6:
i went and compared the malibu to the Cruze in the Price. yes they are close in price but at comparative price point, i found that i got more amenities in a Cruze 2LT than in a Malibu 1LS at the estimated price of $22K. i got standard leather seats, with optional power 6- way adjustments and 16″ alloy (i upgraded to the 17″ with sport suspension and all wheel disc) and a sunroof. with the Malibu LS at that price i wouldn’t have gotten those features. i would have to go up to the 2LT and even with the discounts, it would still be more money. at the end of the day the Cruze i found to be a great value. People i have noticed have found it to be expensive because of “one-sided” info on the car. they too much don’t compare it to cars in its class to show that it is relatively well priced, and compare it to much larger cars where their base price is at the “nicely equipped” price of the Cruze.
As a purchase price you might be right with the cruze but that malibu lease deal seems kind of interesting
Subsidized leasing is the way to go for value and you want to always have a warranty