With its 100th birthday behind it, Chevrolet is on pace to set an all-time global sales record in 2011, having sold 4.8 million vehicles by the end of November.
Chevrolet marketing manager for mid-sized and performance cars Russ Clark said the Bowtie Brand’s market share around the world had increased by nearly 0.5 percent in 2011. Sixty percent of all Chevrolets are now sold outside the United States, which has long been the primary market for General Motors. Chevrolet began selling cars in South Korea and Vietnam for the first time in 2011.
“A Chevrolet is sold somewhere in the world every 6.6 seconds,” said Clark, adding that the company's top 10 markets now included China, Russia, Uzbekistan, and India.
One in five Chevrolets are sold in Latin America, where it the No.1 brand with a market share of 18.7 percent, while Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Columbia are all now important markets for Chevrolet products from passenger cars to trucks and sport utility vehicles.
Despite General Motors' push to make Chevrolet a truly global brand with the same world-wide reach as Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen, Chevy has not halted its effort in the United States. Chevrolet is the second place US brand with 13.7 percent market share, placing it just behind arch-rival Ford.
But it has gained one percent of market share thanks to 15 consecutive months of sales gains, while sales of Chevrolet passenger cars have climbed 34 percent in recent months after the recent overhaul of its range.
The Chevrolet Cruze was the best selling compact car in the US, while sales of the Malibu have surpassed those of 2010.
Both the Corvette and Camaro, which has bested Mustang for the second year in a row, are now tops in their respective segments, while the all-new subcompact Chevrolet Sonic is selling so fast dealers have only a 17-day supply.
The Malibu, the longest longest running nameplate in the Chevrolet line, has been completely revamped for 2012 to make it more competitive in the hotly contested mid-sized segment, where it is expected to challenge the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord as well as the new Volkswagen Passat.
The Bowtie Brand has been doing well in South Africa, too; the Corsa Utility has been the top seller in the sub-one tonne bakkie bracket for 79 months, while the Aveo is sixth in the passenger-car top 10 and the Spark, ninth. - AFP