The decision was made by General Motors last December to pull Chevrolet entirely out of Europe, letting the Vauxhall and Opel brands each have a larger market share there. And even though that cessation isn’t set to happen entirely until the end of 2015, already Chevrolet sales in the UK are on the decline.
The brand registered no new cars in the month of August in the UK, and only three in September, according to the UK’s Business Car. That brings the marque’s registered car count to 2,764 for the year so far, versus 11,676 for the year of 2013.
General Motors is still going to keep open at least 90 Chevrolet service centers for customers, as well as providing replacement parts for the foreseeable future. Besides the interest in expanding the Vauxhall and Opel brands in Europe, General Motors is also setting itself up to expand the Cadillac marque there.
It’s a risky decision, granted that both the Vauxhall and the Opel brands have yet to solidify their respective places in the European car market, but General Motors has faith that the two will see far stronger, profitable performance by 2016.
Comment
All import to Europe was stopped right away when GM announced that they are not going to sell Chevrolets any more in Europe. In my country last Chevrolets were sold only about three or four months after the announcement.