Cruze wagon may boost Chevy fleet sales
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LONDON - Chevrolet will unveil a Cruze station wagon at next month's Geneva auto show. The car may help to boost the brand's fleet sales in Europe where a wagon is a typical company car.
The wagon will join the Cruze hatchback and sedan already on sale in European markets. At 4,675 mm, it is slightly longer than the hatchback and sedan models. Load space is 500 liters, rising to nearly 1,500 liters with the rear seats folded down.
"The Cruze station wagon caters to an important market segment. It ticks all the boxes for European drivers in terms of distinctive design, dynamic driving, space and economy, " Chevrolet Europe Managing Director Susan Docherty said in a statement.
The wagon will have Chevrolet's new 1.7-liter diesel engine, along with a 2.0-liter diesel and 1.6- and 1.8-liter gasoline engines. The engine range will be available on the entire Cruze line-up starting summer 2012, Chevrolet Europe said.
IHS automotive analyst Ian Fletcher said the low emissions 1.7-liter diesel will be important to Cruze sales in Europe where diesels are popular because of lower overall running costs compared with gasoline models.
The 130-hp 1.7-liter diesel has stop-start technology as standard and CO2 emissions of 119g/km.
Fletcher said the station wagon would help Chevrolet in the company car market. "Like the Korean manufacturers, Chevy has got its eye on the fleet markets and the wagon is a typical company driver vehicle," he said.
The Cruze was Chevrolet's No. 3 seller in Europe last year after the Spark and Aveo with sales of 48,564, according to market researchers JATO Dynamics.
You can reach Nick Gibbs at nick.gibbs@btinternet.com.
