MacGuffin
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GM to Pull Chevy From Europe to Focus on Expanding Opel
By Dorothee Tschampa - 2013-12-05T08:32:29Z
General Motors Co. (GM) is pulling the Chevy marque from Europe to focus on expanding the Opel and Vauxhall brands.
GM will end Chevy sales in the region by the end of 2015, while maintaining the division?s presence in Russia, Steve Girsky, GM?s vice chairman, said on a conference call today with reporters. Reorganization costs from the shift will total $700 million to $1 billion, with most of the charges posted in the current quarter and the first half of 2014.
?This is a win for all of our brands here in Europe and around the globe as GM will benefit from a stronger Opel/Vauxhall,? Girsky said. To pull Chevrolet out of Europe ?will help us to accelerate progress in the region.?
Chevrolet deliveries in Europe dropped 17 percent in the 10 months through October, giving the nameplate 1.2 percent of the market. Ruesselsheim, Germany-based Opel and its sister U.K. division Vauxhall posted a 3 percent decline in the period, about matching the industrywide contraction, giving the two a combined regional market share of 6.7 percent.
?The financial results have been unacceptable and the outlook is difficult? for Chevrolet in Europe, Girsky said.
Some of the brand?s ?iconic? models, such as the Corvette, will remain on sale in Europe, and the up-market Cadillac marque is working on an expansion in the region in the next three years, Detroit-based GM said today in a statement. The carmaker?s South Korean operations, which produced most Chevrolet vehicles sold in Europe, will focus on ?driving profitability, managing costs and maximizing sales opportunities.?
The strategy shift is independent of GM?s model-development partnership with Paris-based PSA Peugeot Citroen (UG), Girsky said.
Opel models introduced in the past year include the Mokka compact sport-utility vehicle and the Adam city car. The division started building the latest version of its mid-sized Insignia in August.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-...y-from-europe-to-focus-on-expanding-opel.html
I suppose it's good new for Opel/Vauxhall, since GM now finally seems to have developed the common sense to quit the internal brand cannibalism in Europe.