The idea had been floating around for quite some time and now, General Motors has officially confirmed plans to move production of its next generation Chevrolet Cruze compact series from South Korea to its troubled European operations in order to help improve efficiency at its plants there.
GM Korea boss Sergio Rocha broke the news to company’s South Korean union, according to a report from Reuters. Union spokesman Choi Jong-hak said that Rocha told them the new Cruze would be manufactured in five regions around the world, including Europe, the United States and China, but declined to provide further details.
The current model is built in plants in Australia (as a Holden), Brazil, China, India, Kazakhstan, Russia, Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand and the United States in Lordstown, Ohio.
GM Korea spokesman Park Hae-ho told the news site that the current Cruze accounts for somewhere between 50 and 60 percent from a total production of 260,000 vehicles assembled each year at the brand’s local facility in city of Gunsan.
The new Cruze is expected to arrive in the market in 2014 as 2015 model and will be built on a new global platform.
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