It's not as if anyone blamed them for the drop in 2008 sales as everybody knows it's not their specific cars that don't sell but cars in general... oh well, and houses but that's a different story.
However, GM feels the need to boast about their “success in difficult times” as GME president Carl Peter Forster labels it. Actually this is the third consecutive time when GM manages such a performance but Chevrolet scored for the first time a historic achievement with over half a million cars sold in Europe last year, growing by almost 11 percent.
“I consider this a success in difficult times. We’re encouraged with our sales performance as we are facing an unprecedented set of economic challenges due to the global economic crisis,” said Forster adding that “our decision to keep a strong focus on quality and our growth strategy for Central and Eastern Europe continue on track. We are facing increasing headwinds, but I’m confident that the GM Europe team is capable of continuing to successfully manage the business during this challenging period.”
However, Opel/Vauxhall wasn't just that successful as it sold 1,459,000 vehicles in Europe in 2008, meaning 10.5 percent down compared to 2007.
“Opel/Vauxhall continues to play a key role as GM’s mainstream brand in Europe,” GM Europe vice president, sales, marketing and after sales, Brent Dewar, reported adding that “we strongly believe the Insignia and the upcoming new Astra will help to further enhance Opel’s brand image.”
The failure was continued by Saab, Cadillac and Corvette which have had an even worse fate. Saab sold only 66,713 cars in Europe in 2008, meaning a 21.9 percent drop, Cadillac 4,556 units, down 5 percent, while only Corvette 1,086 found a new owner, down 15.3 percent.
So, it's not so that encouraging after all! But don't worry! You're not the only ones with such a "doomed" fate!
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