GM Announces Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback

GM announced yesterday that they will be launching a new 5-door hatchback model of the Chevrolet Cruze. The Chevrolet Cruze hatchback will be available across Europe mid 2011 and will follow in the global markets shortly after. Even though the Chevrolet Cruze Sedan is due to arrive into the US market in September, the hatchback version will not be available in the US market.

Wayne Brannon said, president and managing director of Chevrolet Europe “Cruze is turning out to be a real success story. We are selling it in 70 countries around the world and it is our top-selling passenger car globally.” He also went on by saying, “Hatchbacks play a critical role in many markets. For instance, 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 the volume. We therefore expect to see increased business in a number of regions.”

The Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback will make its debut at Paris Motor Show on September 30th, 2010.

In my opinion, it sounds like GM is trying to compete with Mazda 3, which has dominated the market in recent years (at least in Canada) for the sports compact market. They should consider launching the Chevrolet Cruze SS which would threaten Ford & Mazda as direct competition. You can still have good power/performance and amazing mileage with boosted motors, just look at Ford’s Eco-Boost engines. Also, the hatch looks awesome, I’m willing to put my money on it in a couple of years, the demand will be in North America for GM to make the hatch available for the US/Canadian market.

Source: GM Press Release
Pictures courtesy of General Motors Corporation http://www.gm.com/

Attached is two more pictures of the awesome looking Cruze Hatchback!