Chevrolet announced that it is investing US$ 5 billion to strengthen its business in global growth markets through the development of an all-new vehicle family that will meet the rapidly changing demands of customers in these markets. Of this investment US$ 1 billion will be invested in India with 9 new products set to be launched through to 2019. “With a significant majority of anticipated automotive industry growth in 2015 to 2030 outside of mature markets, Chevrolet is taking steps to capitalize on that growth,” said General Motors President Dan Ammann. “Strengthening Chevrolet’s position through this major investment is consistent with our global strategy to ensure long-term profitable growth in the markets where we operate.” By creating one all-new vehicle family to replace several existing vehicles, Chevrolet expects to substantially improve competitiveness and profitability by delivering what customers expect in each market while taking maximum advantage of the benefits of global scale.
GM has further expanded its successful partnership with SAIC Motor through an agreement to jointly develop the vehicle family core architecture and engine, which it expects will result in significant development cost savings and optimized total vehicle cost. The program represents another important step in GM’s previously stated architecture consolidation plan. The vehicle family is being developed by a multinational team of engineers and designers assigned to ensure each entry is tailored to meet the expectations of customers in each market. Vehicles will be manufactured and sold in several markets including Brazil, China, India and Mexico, and exported for sale to other important growth markets. There are no plans to export the vehicles to mature markets such as the United States. A high level of localization of parts suppliers should drive significant savings over the life of the program. The program is expected to grow to more than 2 million vehicles annually with the first entry planned for the 2019 model year.
