Chevrolet Europe - History

History

Chevrolet was established in 1911 by Louis Chevrolet and Billy Durant, the founder of General Motors. Louis Chevrolet had already built up a reputation as a mechanic and race driver, first in his native Europe and then over in the USA. He gained experience working with the largest car manufacturer of the time, de Dion-Bouton whilst dominating the race circuits for 15 years. In 1905 he set a land speed record by covering a mile in 52.8 seconds. In 1907, Louis Chevrolet began driving for Buick, which is where he met future GM founder Billy Durant. Seeing his passion for cars coupled with a reputation as a talented racer, Durant saw potential in creating a brand from Louis Chevrolet's name. Upon its birth, Chevrolet went on to establish a firm presence in North and South America, toppling the Ford Model T from the top sales position. In Europe, Chevrolet also had production facilities in Denmark, Poland and Switzerland, which continued operating until 1968. In the latter half of the 20th Century Chevrolet grew as a niche European brand with imports of the two flagship models, Corvette and Camaro as well as other Chevrolet vehicles.

At the 2004 Paris Motor Show, Chevrolet announced that it was relaunching the brand across Europe, basing its headquarters in Zurich, the largest city of founder, Louis Chevrolet's home country of Switzerland. By 2010 sales had risen from 295,000 units in 2005 to 500,000. This level of growth was in part due to the introduction of small and mid-sized cars built by GMDAT (GM Daewoo Auto & Technology). Chevrolet have recently announced plans to return two of their most iconic cars, the Camaro and Corvette to Europe in 2011.