Chevrolet has been marked as the world’s fastest-growing automotive brand, selling over 4.95 million cars in 2012. That number accounts for over half of GM’s total sales for the year, at 9.2 million vehicles.
1.85 million of those Chevy sales took place in the United States alone, but over 60 percent of the sales came from other markets, such as Brazil, China, Russia, South Korea, and India. The introduction of several new models in these markets contributed to the record sales.
Chevrolet also saw its fourth consecutive year of growth in Europe, selling a record 541,760 vehicles in 2012, and achieving a record market share of 2.89 percent. That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s important to note that the brand is bucking the trend of an otherwise slumping market.
“Chevrolet is in the midst of the most aggressive rollout of new products in its history,” said Don Johnson, Chevrolet vice president of U.S. sales and service. “It helped us deliver our ninth-consecutive quarter of record global sales.”
Unifying the global vision for Chevy is the “Find New Roads” slogan, which is planned to be the banner for 13 new or refreshed products in the United States, and 12 others across the globe in 2013. Chevy finds that its global presence is enhanced by its creation of small cars designed for a world market, such as the Sonic/Aveo, Trax, Orlando, Spark, Malibu, and Cruze. Over 750,000 Cruze models were sold in 2012, making it the top-selling Chevy worldwide.
The current success of the brand is nothing short of impressive, and from the sounds of it, 2013 should be even better.
Comments
Can’t understand why they won’t sell Cruze hatch or wagon, cars already engineered, in US. Would they ever lose money if they tried it for a year or two? Is there really a risk involved?
I totally agree, the hatchback is smaller than the wagon but we should get at least ONE of the other variants. Doesn’t look likely until MAYBE after the next refresh? I see a lot of Jetta and Audi wagons everyday, not to mention a ton of Subaru wagons everywhere – but would any of those drivers even look at a Chevy?
Luke, seriously looking at Subaru wagons myself. Would prefer a GM but can’t keep waiting for them to offer me something that fits my needs. I’d take either the wagon or the hatch. I’d be down at the dealer tomorrow!
If I had to deal with snow there is no doubt that Subaru, and in particular the Impreza, would be near the top of my list. But for those in a southern, flat location, the fuel/performance penalty for AWD puts Subaru vehicles at a disadvantage. Also not sure about the Impreza CVT.
Powertrain aside, at last year’s auto show I liked the Impreza Sport Wagon design better than anything else. With a compact, yet spacious wagon and superior roof rack, it’s just made for outdoor types who also care about fuel economy. We were led to believe that GM would produce something to compete with Subaru. Haven’t seen it (or was it the everywhere-but-here Trax?). Disappointing.