Business

Monday May 11, 2009

Cruze-ing along Targeted sales of 600 units of Chevrolet’s new model

By ELIZABETH CHONG


IF General Motors (GM) has its way, Chevrolet’s latest compact sedan will be Cruze-ing into the hearts of many Malaysians.

Set for a local debut in July, Cruze is expected to sell 500-600 units this year in Malaysia, says GM Asia Pacific vehicle sales & marketing vice-president Joseph Y.H. Liu.

Showcased at Auto Shanghai 2009 and now on sale in China for between US$15,900 and US$21,800, Chevrolet Cruze 1.8L will make Malaysia its first stop in Asean.

“It will be launched in India in the fourth quarter and Thailand early next year,” Liu told Malaysian journalists during the auto show in Shanghai recently.

Chevrolet Cruze’s design is distinguished by a bold “face” that is becoming the signature look for Chevrolet models around the globe, as well as an arching roofline that gives the car a sporty, coupe-like proportion.

Liu describes the plush interior as “a surprise” while the six-speed automatic front drive transmission is the first in the 1.8-litre class in Asia.

He said Cruze had garnered good response in Europe and China with over 10,000 and 8,000 bookings received respectively.

“We are targeting to sell 6,000 to 8,000 units in China monthly,” he said.

Cruze will be produced at GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co’s manufacturing centre in Gunsan, South Korea and a new plant in Norsom, China.

On the choice of Malaysia for Cruze’s Asean debut, Liu said GM regarded the country as an important market and wanted to support local Chevrolet distributor HICOM-Chevrolet Sdn Bhd in establishing the Chevrolet brand.

“Chevrolet Captiva is currently HICOM-Chevrolet’s best-selling model and it needs new products to build the Chevrolet brand,” he said, adding that the purchasing power was still strong in Malaysia, surpassing that of Indonesia and Thailand.

HICOM-Chevrolet sold about 1,000 vehicles last year, with 60% coming from Chevrolet Captiva, a sport-utility vehicle, and 20% each from Optra and Aveo.

Chief executive officer Sanjeev Garg said the company aimed to have a total 25 3S (sales, service and spare parts) centres by year-end, almost three times its current number of dealerships.

He also said the company would launch the Captiva MY09 in Malaysia on May 15. However, there is no immediate plan to bring in the Cruze 1.6L SE manual transmission model.

HICOM-Chevrolet is a joint-venture company between GM Asia Pacific Holdings LLC and DRB-HICOM Bhd.


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