The story about General Motors in Europe was never a long calm river. The first American automobile group was at the beginning of the 19th century, one of the the first foreign manufacturers spread on the Old Continent. The first imported beautiful American cars were produced in the country since 1936 Swiss factory in Bila. The first European 8-cylinder Buick left the factory February 5, 1936 !

In the following years, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, La Salle and Cadillac models were released! But General Motors is also above all Opel, which was absorbed in 1929, and became the official European subsidiary of the group. The plant closed in 1972, and General Motors’ operations in Europe were then limited to the distribution of Opel and Vauxhall. It will be necessary wait for 2002 to see the return of the historic brand to our continent: Chevy.

The GM fiasco in Europe

After acquiring the European subsidiaries of Daewoo Motors in 2002, General Motors relaunched in 2005, the Chevrolet brand for Europe. At the time, it was more associated with sporty Camaros and Mustangs, synonymous with dreams and passion. I have already distributed it Opel on the Old Continent, GM’s decision to double its overall offering with Chevrolet was unexpected. Especially since the first models were installed on old Daewoo modelsand did not have a very clear positioning.

With barely 1% of the European market (1.4% for France), GM finally backed down in 2013, phasing out the Chevrolet brand in Europe. Opel, which at that time was already going through great difficulties, also had to face internal competition. General Motors preferred to focus on the markets of Eastern Europe, in particular Russia, Ukraine and Poland. Country where Daewoo brand – then Chevrolet – enjoyed a good reputation. There were 10 models in the French range at that timewith Spark to Corvettesedan Malibu by minibus Orlando.

Electric comeback for Chevrolet and Cadillac

Unfortunately, Chevrolet gradually left Europe, then through the West, then the East and ceased operations in 2016. A year later, GM sold its last European brands, Opel and Vauxhall, to PSA. Putting an end to more than a century of presence in Europe! For several months, the American automobile group announced his return to Europewhich is becoming more and more accurate… The first specification: the models we distribute will be only electric.

With a design office in the UK and an innovation center in Ireland, GM isn’t starting from scratch. The Americans just named a Frenchman Ludovic Basse is the head of the European affairs department in Brussels. The key position is to convey the interests of General Motors to the European Commission in Brussels prepare the ground for Chevrolet and Cadillac. There is no date yet, but one thing can be said for sure: General Motors and Europe, it’s coming soon!