Ring in the New Year with Chevrolet

The Chevrolet brand just celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011 and as the New Year approaches, has a lot to look forward to in 2012. For the first 11 months of 2011, Chevrolet sold 1.6 million cars and trucks in the United States up from 1.4 million over the same period last year (all sales data source Automotive News). Since its parent company, General Motors, emerged from bankruptcy in 2008, the brand has been going through a product renaissance that has been well received by the media and even more so by the public. That trend should continue in 2012.

The recent sales success has been led by the recently launched Equinox crossover, Camaro sports coupe and Cruze compact. This year, the Equinox will sell close to 200,000 units. The Camaro has added close to 100,000 sales to the bottom line since it was relaunched a few years ago. The Cruze has been a blockbuster product for Chevrolet. Compared to the outgoing model, the Cobalt, which sold only 96,000 units during the first 11 months of 2009, Chevrolet sold 215,000 of the Cruze during that same period in 2011.

Looking forward to 2012, the midsize Malibu, Chevrolet's most important car, will be redesigned. The styling of the Malibu will be more aggressive and will share some design cues from the sporty Camaro. Early reviews of preproduction vehicles have been very positive. The momentum is with Chevrolet and it would be a trophy for the brand if the Malibu can have the same success as the Cruze and outsell its competitors.

The new Malibu comes hot on the heels of the just launched Sonic sub-compact. It is too early to make a judgment as to how well the Sonic is selling but early indications are it may be a hit in its class. In November 2011, Chevrolet sold 4,400 of the Sonic vehicles.

So the New Year could be very bright, indeed, for Chevrolet if we can continue this positive momentum into 2012. Everyone at O'Rielly Chevrolet would like to wish you a safe and happy New Year!