To track the movement initiated by VW in the USA, Chevrolet has decided to distribute the Atlantic last year, the Cruze sedan VCDI we know in Europe for a few years. While the Cruze powered by the 1.7 L and 2.0 L engine has had some success in our markets, it is not the same in the USA where the car renamed Cruze Clean Diesel is really worth it.
And since the arrival of model Chevrolet portfolio USA, less than 6,000 units were in the road that is barely 2% of total shipments in the Cruze. It will be recalled that at the time of launch of the car, Don Johnson, sales manager of Chevrolet, announced that this version would represent some 10% of the sales mix Cruze United States.
These poor results contrast with those of the direct competitor of the model, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI, which has sold over the same period of almost a year to some 46,409 copies (9.44 times more than the Cruze) and represents the other side of the Atlantic more than a quarter of the sales mix as the VW Jetta diesel version of the Jetta goes for 26.7% of sales of the model.
This trend is also confirmed on early 2014 as VW has delivered 18,940 copies of its TDI sedan while Chevrolet is only 2,980 units ie 6.35 times less!
The reasons for this market failure seem to be many tracks are:
- Seniority Volkswagen on this market segment diesel sedan
- Indisponiblité model tested at distributors
- Reputation as GM dieseliste or American customers heard about the disastrous 2.0 L Di, 2.0 L DTi and 2.2 L DTi which were reserved for Europeans there a decade
- Charging a low version
While GM manages to impose its diesel engines to pick up, it is far to the compact sedan for the brand. Still, in the American automaker is trying to look good as the deputy head of brand marketing noted that this car is coming at GM since attracting new clients, often coming from competitors.