General Motors announced that it will invest half a billion dollars to build and develop a new compact sized car, the Chevrolet Cruze. The Cruze is set to be officially unveiled at the Paris Motor show this October. It will be built at GM’s Lordstown, Ohio plant which also assembles the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5.
GM chief executive Rick Wagoner said the Cruze would be a significant step toward ending the automaker’s reliance on big trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUV). The Cruze will replace the Cobalt, the most fuel-efficient compact car in the US and one of GM’s top selling vehicles.
GM says the Cruze will get 46 miles per gallon, a good 9 miles more than the Cobalt. It will go on sale in Europe and Asia by 2009, with a North American debut slated for 2010.
Via Forbes