28.11.2006
Chevrolet to start production in the European Union

Starting in fall 2007, the Chevrolet Aveo will be built at a production facility in Warsaw in Poland for sale throughout Europe. An all-new, three- and five-door hatchback variant will be assembled at the same location as of mid-2008.

The current Aveo (called Kalos in some markets) is Chevrolet’s best-selling model in Europe, with registrations totaling 78,500 in the first nine months of this year. Building the vehicle in Europe will allow Chevrolet to satisfy continuing high demand and shorten delivery times (currently from Asia) while reducing logistics costs as well as currency risks for the company. The move will also make it easier to allocate vehicles produced at GM’s Korean manufacturing facilities for sale in Asia and, for example, in the USA, where the Aveo is the number one car in its segment. The Chevrolet cars built in Poland will be sold throughout Europe.

Wayne Brannon, executive director of Chevrolet Europe, said: “We need more Chevys to meet European demand. Wherever possible, it just makes sense to build where we sell.”

Production at the FSO facility will increase slowly from some 4,000 cars built in the latter part of 2007 to upwards of 60,000 in the first full year of production in 2008. Further increases to over 150,000 units per year are planned once all three model variants are in place.

The Warsaw plant in which the Aveo will be built is owned and managed by GM’s long-standing Ukrainian partner, UkrAvto. The company currently manufactures and distributes Chevrolet vehicles in Ukraine, where the brand has a market share of more than 8 percent.