US: GM cancels plans for Chevrolet Orlando minivan build at Detroit-Hamtramck
By: Glenn Brooks, Friday, September 19, 2008, AutomotiveWorld.com
General Motors has cancelled plans to build the future Chevrolet Orlando minivan at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant.
According to The Wall Street Journal, which cites both GM and the UAW, the project, codenamed 'Delta MPV-7' was to have meant a seven-seater minivan would be manufactured at the plant from early 2009. The vehicle itself is about to have it world premiere, albeit in concept form, at the Paris motor show.
"That's no longer an option for us," UAW Local 22 President George McGregor, based near the Hamtramck plant, said of the Orlando. A spokesman confirmed that GM now has no concrete plans to sell the model in the US, the Journal states.
GM Daewoo is shortly due to replace its nine-year old Tacuma/Rezzo minivan and this is expected to be the first sighting of the production version of the MPV-7 project, and possibly the first vehicle to use General Motors' Delta 2 architecture. A rebadged version of the same vehicle is due to be marketed by GM Europe as a Chevrolet in 2009. At this stage, it is not known where either of these minivans will be built. The next Opel/Vauxhall Zafira will also be closely related to the Orlando, with a Chevrolet-badged version for GM do Brasil also expected.
The Daewoo and Chevrolet Rezzo/Tacuma is made at the Kunsan plant in South Korea, with CKD additional assembly of the Chevy also taking place at the AvtoTOR plant in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
Returning to the issue of what vehicle programme will replace the cancelled Orlando at Detroit-Hamtramck, the UAW's McGregor said local union officials are now concentrating on efforts for the plant to be given the Chevrolet Volt. GM announced earlier this week that it continues to seek incentives to make the future electric-gasoline car in Michigan from late 2010. The UAW, for its part, is still trying to finalise a local agreement with GM. The union signed a national agreement with the OEM almost a year ago.
At this stage, it is unclear why US production and sales of the Orlando have been cancelled. Certainly, vehicles in this segment are a relative rarity in the US, though they are more popular elsewhere in the Americas. Ford has no entrant in the segment, though the Mazda5 (Premacy in some markets) sells moderately well in the US and Canada. The Kia Rondo (Carens) is another imported mid-sized minivan marketed in the US. The main player, the Toluca, Mexico-built Dodge Journey, found 4,587 buyers in the US market last month. This compares to 9,422 units of the larger Grand Caravan, one of the country's best selling full-sized minivans.
According to The Wall Street Journal, which cites both GM and the UAW, the project, codenamed 'Delta MPV-7' was to have meant a seven-seater minivan would be manufactured at the plant from early 2009. The vehicle itself is about to have it world premiere, albeit in concept form, at the Paris motor show.
"That's no longer an option for us," UAW Local 22 President George McGregor, based near the Hamtramck plant, said of the Orlando. A spokesman confirmed that GM now has no concrete plans to sell the model in the US, the Journal states.
GM Daewoo is shortly due to replace its nine-year old Tacuma/Rezzo minivan and this is expected to be the first sighting of the production version of the MPV-7 project, and possibly the first vehicle to use General Motors' Delta 2 architecture. A rebadged version of the same vehicle is due to be marketed by GM Europe as a Chevrolet in 2009. At this stage, it is not known where either of these minivans will be built. The next Opel/Vauxhall Zafira will also be closely related to the Orlando, with a Chevrolet-badged version for GM do Brasil also expected.
The Daewoo and Chevrolet Rezzo/Tacuma is made at the Kunsan plant in South Korea, with CKD additional assembly of the Chevy also taking place at the AvtoTOR plant in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
Returning to the issue of what vehicle programme will replace the cancelled Orlando at Detroit-Hamtramck, the UAW's McGregor said local union officials are now concentrating on efforts for the plant to be given the Chevrolet Volt. GM announced earlier this week that it continues to seek incentives to make the future electric-gasoline car in Michigan from late 2010. The UAW, for its part, is still trying to finalise a local agreement with GM. The union signed a national agreement with the OEM almost a year ago.
At this stage, it is unclear why US production and sales of the Orlando have been cancelled. Certainly, vehicles in this segment are a relative rarity in the US, though they are more popular elsewhere in the Americas. Ford has no entrant in the segment, though the Mazda5 (Premacy in some markets) sells moderately well in the US and Canada. The Kia Rondo (Carens) is another imported mid-sized minivan marketed in the US. The main player, the Toluca, Mexico-built Dodge Journey, found 4,587 buyers in the US market last month. This compares to 9,422 units of the larger Grand Caravan, one of the country's best selling full-sized minivans.
Published on Friday, September 19, 2008
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