General Motors has just reported that it will end production of the Chevy Cruze in Argentina, the only country in the world where the Chevrolet compact car is still manufactured.
The automaker’s Argentine subsidiary confirmed that it will stop manufacturing the current second-generation Chevy Cruze at the GM Alvear plant later this year, when the company will end production of what was the Bow Tie brand’s first global nameplate and, for several years, its best-selling vehicle worldwide. GM Argentina announced that it will cease production of the Cruze at the end of 2023.
“The Chevrolet Cruze will continue to be produced until the end of 2023, closing a successful manufacturing cycle of almost eight years in Argentina,” said press department of GM Argentina in a statement. “GM will continue to produce spare parts in its Automotive Industrial Complex in this country for the next 10 years,” the company added.
The production cycle of the Chevy Cruze in Argentina already has an official expiration date and will close after a run of more than seven years. The Argentine plant was the only one in the world to maintain production of the current Cruze despite the sharp drop in demand, unlike three other GM plants that abruptly shut down production of the model: GM Lordstown in Ohio, GM Ramos Arizpe in Mexico and SAIC-GM Norsom II in China.
The second-generation Chevy Cruze began to be manufactured in the Alvear complex during the second quarter of 2016, reaching a good level of popularity in the Argentine market and some other countries in the region such as Brazil. However, it didn’t reach the sales volumes of the first-generation model. In Argentina, the Cruze is manufactured in sedan and hatchback configurations, while its powertrain components will continue being produced for another 10 years.
Chevy Cruze production in Argentina will end sometime in the last quarter of the year, possibly by the end of November, according to union sources familiar with the company’s production plans. The departure of the Cruze from the production lines of the Alvear plant will lead to increased production of the Chevy Tracker, the only vehicle to be manufactured at the facility until further notice.
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Comments
Cruze was the best compact car GM ever made. Very economical reliable comfortable and versatile.
When gas prices hit $5 gal it would have been a best seller but GM abandoned it for huge trucks and SUVs. Toyota and Kia were the winners.
Gas hit $5/gallon, pickups and SUVs remained best sellers.
lol, that’s because there aren’t any compact cars in GMs line up. The ones that did offer them absolutely noticed a surge in purchases last year. There’s a market out there, when there are things for people to buy. Just stop
Toyota offers three sedans. Corolla, Camry, and Prius. They also have the Crown, it is sort of sedan-ish. Even Toyota’s biggest selling model is a crossover (RAV4).
Honda’s biggest seller is the CR-V despite the Civic and Accord still being in their line-up.
People are still buying crossovers and SUVs more than they are traditional cars.
And these same people whine about not being able to afford gas or the $1,000+ a month car payments.
Consumer cognitive dissonance at its finest and a hallmark of the Stupid Unnecessary Vehicle owner.
We still have our Cruze , a 2011 LTZ RS that we purchased new. it is black , sunroof, leatherette interior, alloy wheels etc. Its a 1.4turbo with 6 speed auto. We custom ordered the car so got exactly the options we wanted.
The car is in excellent condition and never winter driven. I knew it was a great car when we took delivery and the first drive.
We will keep it forever as GM has abandoned the small sedan segment.
The second gen Cruze did not sell as well
The car itself was cheapened rear suspension changes , 3rd head rest gone , Start stop with no defeat feature etc,etc.
But the biggest factor was the styling, it looked like the prior gen Elantra, while the first gen was more upscale taking some cues from BMW .
I was going to buy a 2018 , but after driving the second gen decided to keep our current car.
if i would have gotten a new one it may have been the 5 door.
Also GM spent no money to market the car while Honda and Hyundai were constantly promoting the Civic and Elantra. All of GM marketing focused on FS truck and large SUVs
GM had some very competitive small cars and they are all gone, Spark , Sonic , Cruze , really a shame !!
then, the end of the to brasil ugly car too
I would love to get my hands on a new loaded 2-door!
I love my 2012 Cruze Eco 6spd and 42 mpg … I would have bought a Volt in 2012 if it was not twice the price. I am a 50 yr GM owner. They keep dropping the cars/trucks that make the most sense and styling for me, so I am done.
My 2023 Travers is my last.
GMs best selling vehicle worldwide!!! Mary Barry and the leadersheep over optioned the car, declined to make fleet vehicles (like was done with all other small cars) and overpriced the Cruze. Sales slipped.
From GM “We have strategically decided to reduce small car production. “
Over 8,000 jobs were lost in the Lordstown Ohio area alone. That was in 2019. Today ex employees are still waiting for GM to settle violations from closing these plants as GM retreats offshore.