Thursday 4 August 2011

Chevrolet and Vauxhall/Opel to separate further

GM CEO, Nick Reilly has said in order to detached Vauxhall/Opel and Chevrolet, the former may have to go a little upmarket, to compete with the likes of Volkswagen.

With Chevrolet launching a spew of new model over the last year, speculation suggests that it might start contending with Vauxhall/Opel for sales, harming the overall business model for GM.

“Undoubtedly Chevrolet will move up the pecking order with the quality of new products that have been launched and which are planned for launch,” said Reilly. “Therefore it’s logical that we’d like to see the Opel/Vauxhall product range and company image move up accordingly to keep them separated.

"If we can do that, then that will allow us to get the transaction price of Vauxhall and Opels a little higher. That won’t happen overnight, though: we have to win comparison tests against our rivals and show our technical capabilities.”

Even so, Reilly emphasised that current market analysis shows that only 1.5% of Vauxhall/Opel buyers have considered a Chevrolet as an alternative.

“Chevrolet is an American brand with its own reputation and a goal of always being priced below the mainstream,” said Reilly. “In contrast Opel and Vauxhall are very European brands, with reputations for German engineering and pushing the boundaries of innovation.

"Cars such as the Meriva and Ampera show that we can lead in areas of technology in a way that Chevrolet won’t. But what Chevrolet cars will always be is good value.”

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