AutoReporter

Chevrolet has been busy lately, emerging from bankruptcy proceedings with a quartet of new show cars unveiled at the recent Paris Motor Show. One of the most eagerly anticipated of these was the five-door hatchback version of the popular Chevy Cruze sedan.

According to Wayne Brannon, president and managing director of Chevrolet Europe, the potential for meeting further customer demand is significant. “Cruze is turning out to be a real success story. We are selling it in 70 countries around the world and it has recently surpassed the Aveo as our top selling passenger car nameplate globally.

“Hatchbacks play a critical role in many markets. The total compact segment in Europe represents around 4.8 million units which is over a quarter of the total market, with hatchbacks representing around 65% of that volume. We therefore expect to see increased business in a number of regions, while sending out a signal that Chevrolet is now a serious mainstream player in Europe.”

Since its launch in Spring 2009, the Cruze sedan has become a sales success in many markets – Europe among them. So far in 2010, Cruze tops the compact sedan sales charts in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the U.K., where it is exceeding forecasted sales by a decent margin. Paris was a natural venue to debut the hatchback, as the functional body style is especially popular there. Canada has traditionally been a strong consumer of hatchbacks so it wouldn’t be shocking to see the car come here.

Cargo capacity for the Cruze hatchback is close to 0.4 cubic meters with its 60/40 split rear seats folded flat. The new Chevrolet Cruze 5-door hatchback should go on sale throughout Europe in the middle of 2011 with prices announced closer to the launch date.



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