Drove My Chevy to the Levy But the Levy was Dry..Chev to leave Europe 2016

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GM instead plans to concentrate on marketing its German-made Opel vehicles and its British sister brand Vauxhall, and in coming years push its luxury Cadillac models in Europe.

The decision will weigh on its accounts and lead to net special charges of $US700 million ($A777 million) to $US1.0 billion, between the fourth quarter of 2013 and the first half of next year, GM said in a statement on Thursday.

"The company's Chevrolet brand will no longer have a mainstream presence in Western and Eastern Europe, largely due to a challenging business model and the difficult economic situation in Europe," GM said.

From 2016, GM will sell only iconic Chevrolet models such as the Corvette in Western Europe, while it will keep selling the mainstream Chevrolet models in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a group of former Soviet countries.

The Detroit-based company says it also plans to market its Cadillac brand more strongly in Europe and "will enhance and expand its distribution network over the next three years".

The extra charges the company will incur this year and next include asset impairments, dealer restructuring, sales incentives and severance-related costs.

The restructuring will "improve the Opel and Vauxhall brands and reduce the market complexity associated with having Opel and Chevrolet in Western and Eastern Europe," GM said.

"In Russia and the CIS, the brands are clearly defined and distinguished and, as a result, are more competitive within their respective segments."
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