Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback to Debut in Paris

General Motors is using next month’s Paris Motor Show to launch the 5-door hatchback version of the Chevrolet Cruze.

GM said that the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback will be imported into Europe and some other markets from GM-Daewoo in Korea but Australian GM unit Holden plans to build it locally.

The new Chevrolet Cruze 5-door hatchback will go on sale across Europe mid 2011 with prices announced nearer the launch date.

With the introduction of the new Cruze hatchback, customers have an alternative body style to the traditional sedan and Chevrolet has raised the bar again with a vehicle that brings new levels of value against some of the more established competition.

According to Wayne Brannon, president and managing director of Chevrolet Europe, the potential for meeting further customer demand is significant.

“Cruze is turning out to be a real success story. We are selling it in 70 countries around the world and it has recently surpassed the Aveo as our top selling passenger car nameplate globally.

Since its launch in the spring 2009, the Cruze sedan has been warmly welcomed by markets all over the world, greeted as a step change for the brand with customers attracted to its coupe style, build quality, 5-star NCAP rating and driving dynamics. It was also elected the AUTOBEST car of 2010 by a jury of leading auto writers in Central and Eastern Europe.

The Chevrolet Cruze is a car particularly well suited to European driver tastes, a fact borne out by sales success across many of markets. So far in 2010, Cruze tops the compact sedan sales charts in many of the larger European markets including Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the U.K., where it is exceeding forecasted sales.

Hatchback design

With its attractive sweeping coupe roofline and short overhangs at both the front and rear, the new Cruze hatchback has the same dynamic ‘stance’ as the sedan and will be instantly recognizable. It will benefit too from the same taut body ‘feel’ on the road, being built using the new body-frame integral system (BFI) which is complemented by the final tuning to chassis components. The BFI system results in high levels of stability and solidity.

Cargo capacity for the Cruze hatchback is close to 400 liters and will feature 60/40 split rear seating.