GM Delays New Chevrolet Cruze Launch By a Year for 2015

Originally, General Motors planned to debut the all-new generation of its successful Chevrolet Cruze in late 2014 as a 2015MY (model year), but now we learn from a Reuters report that the launch has been delayed by a year and will take place instead in December of 2015, with the compact car likely to wear a 2016MY designation.

The report says the revelation comes from “people familiar with the U.S. automaker’s plans” with the reasoning behind GM’s decision being engineering changes of the last moment and the fact that the company wants to “squeeze” more sales out of the car before its replacement arrives.

Earlier this year, GM introduced the first diesel-powered Cruze in the United States. Outside of North America, Chevrolet also offers a five-door hatchback and even an estate version of the Cruze.

An unnamed supplier source told the news agency that GM wants to make sure that the new model “does break through the clutter” better than the Malibu, which wasn’t as successful as the company wanted and as a result, Chevrolet ushered in a light facelift less than a year after its launch.

As we’ve seen through our spy shots, the new Cruze sedan will carry a completely new and more sharper looking body built on a brand-new platform for compact models.

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