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GM winding down Chevrolet brand in Europe

If you've taken even a cursory look at GM's European strategy and wondered how it can target the market there with both Chevrolet and Opel/Vauxhall, you're not alone. In fact General Motors itself has found it difficult to justify the two-pronged approach. That's why it's essentially pulling Chevy from the European marketplace.
Instead of trying to ply European buyers with what are mostly former Daewoo products rebadged as Chevys, GM will now let Opel (or Vauxhall in the UK) represent its mass-market aspirations. Chevrolet will keep its presence in Russia and other former Soviet markets, and will continue selling certain niche products in Eastern and Western Europe. The Corvette, for example, has long been sold in Europe through Cadillac dealerships, which for its part is currently "finalizing plans for expanding in the European market".
While the shift in strategy is expected to help GM get a stronger foothold in the European market in the long run, in the short term the restructuring will cost it dearly: between $700 million and $1 billion, according to its own estimates, split between the last quarter of this year and the first half of the next. Jump into the full press release below for more.

GM seeks national mandate for zero-emissions cars

DETROIT — General Motors says it will ask the federal government for one national gas mileage standard, including a requirement that a percentage of auto companies' sales be zero-emissions vehicles. Mark Reuss, GM's executive vice president of product development, said the company will propose that a certain percentage of nationwide sales be made up of vehicles that run on electricity or hydrogen fuel cells. GM says a nationwide program modeled on such a requirement in California could result in 7 million electric vehicles, or EVs, on U.S. roads by 2030. California wants 15.4 percent of vehicle sales by 2025 to be EVs or other zero emission vehicles. Nine other states, including Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, have adopted those requirements. In January, California Governor Jerry Brown set a target of 5 million zero-emission vehicles in California by 2030. The Trump administration criticizes California's ZEV mandate, saying it requires automakers to spend tens of billions of dollars developing vehicles that most consumers do not want, only to sell them at a loss. Reuss told reporters that governments and industries in Asia and Europe "are working together to enact policies now to hasten the shift to an all-electric future. It's very simple: America has the opportunity to lead in the technologies of the future." A national mandate also would create jobs and reduce fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and "make EVs more affordable," Reuss added. GM, the nation's largest automaker, will spell out the request Friday in written comments on a Trump administration proposal to roll back Obama-era fuel economy and emissions standards, freezing them at 2020 levels instead of gradually making them tougher. Under a regulation finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency at the end of the Obama administration, the fleet of new automobiles would have to get 36 miles per gallon by 2025, 10 mpg higher than the current requirement. But the Trump administration's preferred plan is to freeze the standards starting in 2021. Administration officials say waiving the tougher fuel efficiency requirements would make vehicles more affordable, which would get safer cars into consumer hands more quickly. GM on Thursday said it doesn't support the freeze, but wants flexibility to deal with consumers' shift from cars to less-efficient SUVs and trucks.

Cadillac ELR production has stopped, Chevy Bolt coming in Oct.

It looks like General Motors' Cadillac ELR extended-range plug-in is out as the automaker prepares to go all in on the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle. The Caddy officially stopped production in February, Hybrid Cars says, citing Cadillac Product Communications Manager David Caldwell. There is still a "small quantity" of the coupe at dealerships, but this take on mashing up "luxury coupe" with "green vehicle" has about run its course. Caldwell and Johan de Nysschen, president of General Motors' Cadillac division, had already confirmed earlier this year that the ELR, which was first available as a 2014 model, wouldn't have any further generations, though weren't specific on when production would stop. The ELR uses an upgraded version of the first-generation Volt's powertrain to move the 4,000-pound beast, and while the Volt is now in its second generation (and this year's sales have more than doubled from a year earlier as a result), the ELR never received a similar upgrade. The ELR sold just 357 units through April. As a result, the ELR sold just 357 units through April, down almost nine percent from a year earlier. In all of last year, 1,024 ELRs were sold, compared to more than 15,000 units for the Chevy Volt, and that's after the ELR's price was cut by about $9,000 last April. The car also got about a 25-percent increase in power, but that didn't seem to do the trick when it came to boosting demand, even with the available $7,500 federal tax credit. Meanwhile, Hybrid Cars is reporting that the 2017 Bolt, which will feature a single-charge range of about 200 miles and is expected to retail for about $35,000, is likely to start production at GM's Orion Assembly Plant in October. While you wait, if you're already feeling nostalgic, check out our impressions of the ELR here. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2014 Cadillac ELR Review View 48 Photos News Source: Hybrid Cars Green Plants/Manufacturing Cadillac Coupe Hybrid Chevy Bolt cadillac elr elr extended-range plug-in bolt