Chevrolet Sold a New Vehicle Every 7.4 Seconds Worldwide in 2010

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The news that Chevrolet sold a new vehicle every 7.4 seconds worldwide may mean it’s time to rework that old slogan of theirs to “It’s as international as cricket, Tandoori and Chevrolet” because it’s as American as baseball, apple pie and Chevrolet just doesn’t reflect what the brand is about any more.

According to figures compiled by Chevrolet, it sold 4.26 million vehicles globally in 2010, an average of one every 7.4 seconds. That drove Chevrolet’s share of global vehicle industry sales up by 0.35 points to grow its worldwide market share to 5.8 percent, or roughly one of every 17 new vehicles sold.

Chevrolet says growth potential for its vehicles is strong globally because eight of the brand’s top 10-selling countries in 2010 were emerging markets: Brazil, China, Uzbekistan, Mexico, Russia, India, Argentina and Colombia. With the United States and Canada, these 10 countries accounted for 85 percent of all Chevrolet sales.

OK, so maybe Chevrolet needs to win over Bollywood, Beijing and Moscow, its home market is still immensely important to its continued success. In the United States, Chevrolet’s largest market, the brand represented more than 70 percent of GM’s overall sales. In 2010, Chevrolet sales in the U.S. grew 16 percent, to 1.57 million vehicles.

While the U.S. market, its largest, saw 16 percent growth, it is the BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China where Chevrolet sees its greatest growth potential. They were responsible for about 33 percent of the brand’s sales, an increase of 2 percentage points over 2009.

Here’s how its sales success breaks down in the BRIC countries:

  • In Brazil, Chevrolet set an all-time record of 657,697 vehicles sold in 2010 and has seen year-over-year sales increases in Brazil for five consecutive years. With about 365,000 sales just five years ago, the brand grew a 78 percent.
  • In Russia, 116,233 Chevrolets were sold, up from 104,398 vehicles in 2009. Chevrolet remained the most popular global brand and the Chevrolet Niva one of the most popular products from a global manufacturer sold in Russia.
  • In India, Chevrolet sales surpassed 100,000 units for the first time. Sales for the year reached 110,350 vehicles, up 60 percent from the previous year. The milestone was achieved primarily by the positive customer response to the Beat and Spark mini-cars and Cruze compact car.
  • In China, Chevrolet experienced unprecedented sales growth of 63 percent in 2010 to 543,700 vehicles. Leading the way was the Cruze, with sales of nearly 190,000 vehicles. Demand was also strong for the New Sail small family car, which generated sales of more than 125,000 vehicles following its introduction in January.

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