- GM Uzbekistan plans to start production of a compact sedan in late 2011.
- The new model is expected to be slightly longer than the Chevrolet Spark.
- Total investment in the Uzbekistan project is estimated at $136 million.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan — GM Uzbekistan plans to start production of a compact sedan here in late 2011. Engineered in Korea and Brazil for emerging markets, the as-yet-unnamed four-door will be sold locally and exported to Russia and former Soviet states.
The new model, which is aimed at such low-priced competitors as the Renault/Dacia Logan, is known within General Motors as the Global Small Vehicle for Emerging Markets, or GSVEM. It is said to be slightly longer than the Chevrolet Spark, which went into production late last summer in Uzbekistan.
Total investment in the Uzbekistan project is estimated at $136 million, with most of the funds to be provided by GM's local partner Uzavtoprom. Production is expected to start in the third or fourth quarter, with an annual volume of 100,000 units planned.
Inside Line says: Look for future variations of the GSVEM to be assembled in other locations, including Asia and Latin America. — Evgeniy Vorotnikov, Correspondent
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ambee514 says:
03:21 PM, 01/12/2011
It is a chevrlet lacetti, it was the star in a reasonably priced car vehcle for Top Gear UK for years. It will now be made with superior Soviet Metals and with superior soviet workforces. lol
stress83 says:
12:27 PM, 01/12/2011
@enginerd2:
If you happen to follow a lot of the IL blog posts, you'll begin to realize that kingon is ESL. I think one can extrapolate what he's trying to get across most of the time.
xorbe says:
11:06 AM, 01/12/2011
Is that just some chrome and a bowtie glued to the front of a 1998 Civic?
juan_mx says:
11:06 AM, 01/12/2011
@neokaitiger
The car in the picture is an old Daewoo Lacetti, known in the US as the Suzuki Forenza, and that is not the car they are talking about in the article.
The picture was a bad choice. In my opinion, they should have shown the Chevrolet Spark.
Considering that the Spark's length is 143.3", the compact sedan they are talking about is going to be way shorter than a Honda Fit.
enginerd2 says:
10:42 AM, 01/12/2011
Kingon,
Care to use some punctuation? Nobody understands that disaster you call a paragraph. Good grief.
Automakers have to make vehicles compatible with the vehicle market in which they are selling. This means that a car that may be agreeable/saleable in Uzbekistan may not fit into an American mold of what a car should look like.
Keep in mind the US is at the forefront of car design. Other parts of the world don't view cars in the same way.
vhoyles says:
09:27 AM, 01/12/2011
Looks like a roll or used toilet paper.
neokaitiger says:
09:17 AM, 01/12/2011
Yuck! It looks like it's from the 90's, and it's silver...
kingon says:
09:14 AM, 01/12/2011
it is folks in Uzbekistan, eastern Russia and former Soviet countries for poor people and low salaries people afford a cheap Chevrolet. it is real brass logos of " Chevrolet ". if GM have policies about official Uzbekistan Chevrolet not allow talk to Uzbekistan people about if they are very jealous in Uzbekistan market why they want Chevy is real imports of America for Camaro, Corvette, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe and classic cars Impala, Bel Air, Chevelle , Nova, Caprice , old Camaro, old Corvette,1950's pickup 1960's pickup, 1970's pickup, Blazer and old Malibu. It is real different Chevrolet brand.
run_and_drive says:
08:57 AM, 01/12/2011
Is that a Suzuki Esteem?
Poor Uzbekistan, getting all the Chevy models that they wont even sell to Americans as Chevy models...