Chevys driving down the Champs-Elysees?

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“We think we have the strongest pickup brand in the world, and we don’t have a pickup in Europe,” Brannon said. A planned Chevy compact SUV that is smaller than today’s Saturn Vue would also be suitable for the European market, he added.

How practical it is to expect GM will be able to export U.S.-built vehicles in volume remains to be seen, but the weaker dollar bolsters the case to do that, said Lindland.

“If the dollar is going to stay weak for years on end, and our forecast has it weak for at least five years, with that scenario in place it makes sense to at least look at exporting as much as you can,” he said.

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Does that mean sending over a couple thousand Camaros, or something more substantive?

“It’s potentially enough volume to make a difference, particularly if the vehicle platforms are as global as they’re making them,” said Lindland. And the precedent of exporting from North America has already been established — just a few years ago Volkswagen exported 400,000 units out of Mexico, she recalled.

Today’s line of Korean-sourced Chevys will be replaced by cars that are either from the United States or are built elsewhere, but will still have a character and design that matches American-built models.

“Current models weren’t designed to be Chevys in the beginning,” Brannon acknowledged. “The new ones will have a more homogeneous look and they will feel like Chevrolets.”

Chevy’s U.S. image is strongly tied to the racing exploits of the late Dale Earnhardt and his NASCAR compatriots, and the company will similarly use racing to boost its image in Europe.

No, that doesn’t mean that the Chevy dealers in Belgium will tout the latest results from Daytona. Instead, the company is competing in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), a road-racing series that uses actual production car frames and bodies as the basis for their race cars.

This series is not yet very popular, even in Europe, but Chevy has found its customers appreciate the fact that the company is racing its cars, as if this confers a stamp of approval.

“The fact that we are racing makes them proud,” said Brannon.

Racing also gives dealers a promotional tool, when they exhibit race cars in their showrooms, according to Brannon. Dealers sell a special “WTCC Street Edition” of the Lacetti model raced in the series, cementing the connection to racing for enthusiast customers.

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What do you think of Chevy’s European expansion?

And the European market is set to provide even more sales growth for participants because of the acceleration in growth of car markets to the east.

Russia is poised to soon pass Germany as the largest market in Europe, for example. This has come as the result of improved reliability of commercial lending markets, reports Chris Lacey, GM’s executive director for central and Eastern Europe, and personal lending is now solidifying.

“Banking stability is a lot more important than political stability for car sales,” he said. “There is a lot more to come from these markets when personal finance comes into play.”

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