Chevrolet leaving Europe would put an end to Opel overlap

Recently, General Motors decided remove Chevrolet from most of the European car markets. This decision can be is a major impediment to the company’s goal of emerging Chevrolet into a globe brand which also ends the overlap issues of Opel and Vauxhall with the bow-tied marque.

Chevy models are sold as affordable, reliable cars with plenty of variety to choose from around the world. In Europe, the Opel brand is there to fill in the gap in the premium category above Chevy, but below Cadillac in terms of pricing. Unfortunately, European buyers are having confusion differentiating between Opel and Chevy. “It is of concern to me,” Akerson told Automotive News. “Something has to change. I just think there’s channel conflict and confusion.” He also mentioned that this confusion reminds him of “retro GM,” where badge engineering was in style, along with bowl cuts. For the past several years, GM has tried to shift Opel a bit more upmarket, to help defeat the cannibalism of sales. “It is something we are going to resolve one way or another,” he added.

To make matters worse, the European car market itself is riding the struggle bus. Chevy sales went down 19 percent through September, making for 112,452 sales thus far in 2013. To put the situation into perspective, GM has lost over $18 billion in Europe since 1999 and wishes to break even by mid-decade.

In a statement, GM said that – “By sometime in 2016, Chevrolet will no longer have a mainstream presence in Western and Eastern Europe, largely due to a challenging business model and the difficult economic situation in Europe,” Only iconic Chevys, such as the Corvette, will continue to be sold throughout most of Europe. Chevrolet will continue selling a broad lineup in Russia and other countries that make up the Commonwealth of Independent States, including Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

About half of Chevrolet’s 1,900 dealerships in Europe also sell Opel. GM said it would continue to provide warranty, parts and service for Chevy vehicles. Akerson also made clear his disdain for the decision by his predecessors in 2005 to roll out Chevy largely through rebadged vehicles developed and built by Daewoo, the Korean automaker that GM acquired in 2002.

Chevy’s lineup in recent years has evolved into a mix of vehicles built on platforms developed both by Opel and GM Korea, with styling and vehicle attributes that more closely match Chevys sold in the United States and other markets. Still, Chevy’s improved European lineup didn’t fix the overlap problem — and might have exacerbated it.