Chevy SS to end, no replacement planned (Update)
What car will the Chevy teams run now? |
UPDATE With the Chevrolet SS on its way out, Chevy will be looking for a new car to serve as the basis for its NASCAR stock car body for the 2018 racing season.
The automaker has already confirmed its new racecar will arrive in time for the 2018 NASCAR season, but it has so far remained tight-lipped as to what it will be.
Chevy's motorsports director in the U.S., Jim Campbell, refused elaborate on the brand's 2018 NASCAR stock car body in a statement released by General Motors.
"It was already known that the Chevrolet SS was going to be discontinued in 2017," Campbell said.
"That information was originally announced last summer. As you know, we don't talk about future projects. We'll make any announcement regarding our next Cup entry at the appropriate time." GM Authority
01/10/17 General Motors Co. will end sales of the Chevrolet SS car for the U.S. market by the end of the year, with no replacement planned, a GM executive confirmed Monday at the Detroit auto show. GM North America President Alan Batey said the sporty car built in Australia, will go away by the end of 2017. The car is what Chevy uses in some NASCAR racing and has been on sale for consumers in the U.S. since 2013.
"Using the old adage, 'win on Sunday, buy on Monday,' we decided that in small numbers we'd introduce it the U.S. because we could, frankly, at a pretty low cost," Batey told reporters Monday after introducing a new Chevrolet Traverse SUV.
"I would say the vehicle has been really well-received. It's small volumes, but it's been really well-received." In 2016, GM sold 3,013 Chevy SS sedans, up 4.1 percent from 2015.
The SS is based off the Holden Commodore. Batey said the decision comes because GM is ending vehicle production in Australia. It will continue to sell vehicles in Australia. GM in late 2013 announced its planned to stop producing vehicles in Australia by 2017, cutting 2,900 jobs and closing an assembly factory and engine plant.
GM said the decision stemmed from the sustained growth of the Australian dollar, high cost of manufacturing and the small domestic market. Detroit News