Landed, or on-the-ground, inventory of the Chevy Spark at U.S. Chevrolet dealerships was running at just 26 days at the end of April, GM Authority has learned.
This is less than half the 60 days considered optimal for the auto industry in the United States. The implication is that there is too much demand for the 2021 Chevy Spark, or insufficient supply, or a combination of both.
Demand for Chevrolet’s smallest and most affordable vehicle is certainly high. With the withdrawal of the Fiat 500 from the U.S. market, customer choice for mainstream city cars now comes down to the Chevy Spark and the Mitsubishi Mirage.
Sales Numbers - Mainstream City Cars - Q1 2021 - United States
| MODEL | Q1 21 / Q1 20 | Q1 21 | Q1 20 | Q1 21 SHARE | Q1 20 SHARE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHEVROLET SPARK | +23.02% | 11,505 | 9,352 | 62% | 65% |
| MITSUBISHI MIRAGE | +49.20% | 6,932 | 4,646 | 38% | 32% |
| FIAT 500 | -98.78% | 4 | 327 | 0% | 2% |
| TOTAL | +28.73% | 18,441 | 14,325 |
Sales of the Mirage are on the rise, but the Chevy Spark currently dominates what has become a two-car market segment. 62 percent of U.S. customers for these vehicles went down the Chevy route during the first quarter of 2021.
The Spark has several advantages over the Mirage, starting with the fact that Chevrolet is a more recognizable brand than Mitsubishi in the U.S. Furthermore, the Spark’s engine has a 20 horsepower advantage than the one in the Mirage, and the Spark has a lower entry price of just $14,790, compared with the Japanese model’s $15,565. This means the Spark retains its title of lowest priced car on sale in the United States.
Production of the 2022 Chevy Spark is scheduled to commence at the GM Changwon factory in South Korea on June 7th. Among the small number of changes will be the deletion of three exterior colors – Passion Fruit, Toasted Marshmallow and Caribbean Blue – as exclusively reported by GM Authority back in January.
They will be replaced by three new colors which unfortunately can not be illustrated as of this writing. However, since they are named Crimson, Blue Glow and Nitro Yellow, accusations that Chevy has chosen three shades of gray seem to be wide of the mark.
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Comments
Excellent news, need more cars in America.
With a name like Spark; it should be an EV!
It was for a time before the Bolt.
Sparks are a required part of a gas engine, but are a bad thing when you got an EV.
I have a 2016 Chevy Spark EV and it is great car. If GM would’ve evolved the Spark EV it would be the Tesla of the $25K or less EV market
WHO NAMES THESE COLORS!?!?!?
It more than likely would be from those within the Design Team that figures out the appropriate colors for the design of this vehicle and then the ” Yay or Nay” approval from the Management Board.
Proof that all cars remaining within gm’s portfolio don’t need to face the potential of being killed off or turned into an SUV, this is good news and hopefully gm will continue to put major investments into this car to ensure it’s longevity with Honda, Hyundai, Kia and even Mini.
Quick, Mary better kill it off before affordable, economical low profit hatchbacks are back in vogue! You’ve got a stable of massive, stratospherically expensive halo truck based EVs to pimp and fund.
I own a 2020 Spark LT in manual transmission. Wonderful car. Exceeds the 38 highway mpg consistently (avg. 43mpg). No rattles, no issues. GM and Chevy have a good thing here. Keep it going as long as they can. Many of us want affordable cars. The spark has styling cues from 2017 Chevy SS (Manual as well). Keep it up!
The Spark is marketed as a city car to young people. I am nearing retirement and I have driven it thousands of miles across country. It is a hidden gem for those that know.
I own a 2020 spark and I love it it gets great fuel mileage around 43 mine has a manual transmission the only wish is it came with an optional 6 speed I would pay more money for the extra gear I took it to the beach and its about 3500 rpms at 80mph so the extra gear would be nice
I love my 5 speed Spark. But an extra gear would be welcome. The engine is screaming on the highway, but it still gets 40+ mpg so it doesn’t affect fuel economy. But I often feel like the need to shift into a non-existent 6th gear.