Chevy Sets New Record in 2011 with 4.76 Million Sales, China is GM's Largest Market Overall

In 2011, General Motors reclaimed its crown as the world's largest vehicle manufacturer from Toyota, which was hit hard by the Japanese Tsunami and the Thailand floods, and as a result, dropped into third place behind the Volkswagen Group.

Overall, GM's largest market in 2011 was China with 2,547,203 vehicles and an 8.3 percent increase over the previous year, followed by the U.S. with 2,503,820 sales, up 13.0 percent.

And the good news doesn't stop there for the Detroit carmaker, which announced today that the driving force behind its success, the Chevrolet brand, recorded its best sales year ever in 2011 delivering 4.76 million vehicles around the world.

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Scoop: Is Chevrolet Readying a Mild Facelift for the Cruze?

Launched at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, the Chevrolet Cruze hasn’t been on the market for that long as it actually went on sale in Europe and Australia during 2009 and the U.S. and Canada in mid-2010.

That said, we were somewhat surprised to see this single scoop picture of what is claimed to be a facelifted version of the Cruze, and which was sent to the Czech website, Autoforum, by one of its readers.

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Supplier Issue Forces GM to Halt Chevy Cruze Production in Ohio

While models like the Corvette or the Camaro usually make the headlines with their performance numbers, looks or Nürburgring lap times, “bread and butter” models that sell in high volumes are those that matter the most to companies like General Motors.

The Cruze, which has sold more than a million units less than two years after its global launch and is currently the second-best-selling small car in the U.S. trailing the Toyota Corolla by 4,000 units, is a prime example.

That’s why halting production on Monday at GM’s Lordstown, Ohio plant where the Cruze is manufactured, must have been quite a blow for the Detroit company.

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Oh, You Shouldn’t Have: One Millionth Cruze is Chevy’s Present for its 100th Birthday

What present do you bring to a 100-year old company for its birthday? It depends: in Chevrolet’s case, the fact that the Cruze reached 1 million sales this week, less than two years after its global launch, is perfectly adequate.

Chris Perry, vice president of Chevrolet global marketing and strategy, also believes that this is a happy coincidence for Chevy’s Centennial: “I can’t think of a better birthday present”, he said. “Cruze’s combination of style, comfort, fuel efficiency and safety is a hit across the globe. Our customers know a winner when they drive it.”

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SEMA Preview: GM Shows Tuned Sonics, Announces Cruze Concepts

General Motors is counting on its revised portfolio of small cars to further increase its sales in North American, and at next week's SEMA aftermarket show in Las Vegas, the Detroit-based automaker will showcase the personalization possibilities for its sub-compact Chevrolet Sonic and the Cruze sedan with a plethora of concepts.

For the time being, GM has shared some initial details on some of the concepts it will display in Las Vegas along with a handful of pictures of two customized Sonic hatchbacks.

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Diesel-Powered Chevrolet Cruze to be Built in Lordstown, on Sale in Early 2013

Following the confirmation on the development of a diesel-powered version of the well-selling Chevrolet Cruze sedan for the American market earlier this year, General Motors revealed today that the car will be built at its plant in Lordstown, Ohio, with sales to begin in early 2013.

GM spokesman Tom Mock told The Detroit News that the company will invest $5.5 million to upgrade the plant's body shop and general assembly line. The same factory also produces the gasoline variants of the Cruze, which has proved a big success for GM outselling everything in its segment including the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.

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Weak USD Makes Small Car Imports Expensive, American Buyers Turn to Domestic Brands

Is a weak dollar a good thing? If you’re asking the U.S. car industry, it most definitely is. Imported car prices have reached their highest point in the last 12 years, thus driving some of their prospective buyers away.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, in August the average price of an imported car reached a record high of $31,536. That makes the price difference between a comparable domestic-made car $7,614, which is the largest since December 1999.

Add to that the severe supply issues faced by the Japanese manufacturers, who are only now starting to recover from the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake, and it’s easy to see why more and more American car buyers are choosing domestic brands instead.

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Tjin…the Thursday Edition: 2012 Honda Civic and Chevrolet Cruze SEMA Show Tunes

The 2011 SEMA Show in Las Vegas this November is gearing up to be a busy event for the crew over at Tjin Edition.

Only two days after announcing their partnership with Ford for the customization of a 2012 Explorer SUV and a Mustang 5.0 GT, Tjin Edition revealed that it has also partnered up with Honda for the development of a bespoke 2012 Civic Si and GM for the creation of a decked out Chevy Cruze sedan.

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