Cherished Chevrolet nameplate makes a return

Dubai:

A much cherished automotive brand is renewing its acquaintance with Middle East buyers. The first shipments of the 2014 Impala, from the Chevrolet stable, will be reaching local showrooms by June end, according to a senior official at one of the GM dealerships.

Price for the 3.6-litre V6 model — there will be three variants under this — available in this market range from Dh105,000 to Dh129,000. “The first shipments have already had extensive bookings even before buyers had a chance to see it in the showroom and set the stage for what will be Chevrolet’s flagship model,” said Rajesh Krishnan, senior general manager for sales and marketing at Liberty Automobiles.

General Motors had the regional media launch last week in Dubai. The model was first unveiled at last year’s New York motor show.

The new Impala, a badge which had been absent from the region for some 15 years now, is expected to take up position vacated by the six-cylinder Caprice, which has been a popular model over the years, and the Lumina, both of which have been phased out. From the Caprice family, built and shipped in from GM’s Holden plant in Australia, only the eight-cylinder version is still available here.

General Motors’ regional operations now have the models — Impala (into its tenth generation now and shipped in from the US plant) and the Malibu launched last year — to slug it out in the larger sedan category. The Malibu — with a sticker price of Dh74,000 — has also been steadily building up the volumes.

“Given the historical affinity that regional buyers have had for larger American sedans, we believe the retail component to be the key driver for Impala sales,” said Krishnan. “But there are good prospects for it to be deployed in corporate fleets as well.”

Liberty Automobiles, one of three GM Dealers in the local market, expects the new Impala to help regain volumes lost due to phasing out of the six-cylinder Caprice and Lumina from this market. Last year, Liberty sold 2,210 Chevrolet units, which is a 41 per cent increase over the previous year.

“Chevrolet has historically dominated the full-size sedan segment — I am confident with the new Impala we will recapture the number one spot,” said John Stadwick, president and managing director of General Motors’ Middle East operations, at the media launch.

To get there, GM will have to take on quite a galaxy of contenders; Volkswagen is trying to get more traction through the Passat, now shipped in from both Germany and the US, while Toyota has just brought an extensively remodelled Avalon. Ford has the Taurus and just below it the Fusion, and there is Chrysler with the 300 badge.