AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)02/06 Report--

GM's strategy to promote three-cylinder engines in the Chinese market has been thwarted, with declining brand reputation, falling sales and falling terminal prices, restoring performance by restarting plans to carry four-cylinder engines in key models. Hundreds of dealers lobbied GM at the meeting to abandon its plan to carry a "three-cylinder engine", and SAIC GM has declared that it has four-cylinder engines on key models, according to Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter.

In GM's new car propulsion plan in China in recent years, some of the main models no longer offer versions with four-cylinder engines, and use two three-cylinder engines of 1.0T/1.3T, including Buick Yinglong, Velang, and Encorra, as well as Chevrolet Coruze and Kowoz, which only have three-cylinder engines. GM has largely abandoned the four-cylinder version of its compact models and below, taking a more aggressive approach than its competitors. Including Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, Hyundai and other brands, there is no market strategy to popularize three-cylinder engines on a large scale.

It is generally believed that the three-cylinder gasoline engine is more in line with the increasingly stringent fuel economy and emission regulations, so automakers vigorously promote the engine to meet the regulatory requirements and avoid fines. However, this practice often ignores the actual considerations and needs of consumers, resulting in a very difficult promotion and a significant decline in sales. Some consumers will think that the three-cylinder engine will have more obvious noise and jitter, and even no more fuel-efficient than the four-cylinder engine with the same displacement, but it is just the product of the manufacturer's response to the laws and regulations, and the consumer will pay for it.

To this end, GM's overall sales and market reputation have suffered a sharp decline, its joint venture SAIC GM (Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac) overall (Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac) sales of 1.6 million vehicles, down 18.8% year on year, two consecutive years of sales decline.

GM may be prepared to abandon plans to carry only three-cylinder engines in some models in China, and the plan to provide only three-cylinder engines has not been welcomed by consumers and has become one of the reasons for the decline in sales, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

A senior sales manager from a Buick dealer in Shanghai said GM's move was "too fast, too radical and lack of careful planning". He also revealed that his company was one of hundreds of dealers at dealer meetings that persuaded GM to abandon its plan to carry a "three-cylinder engine".

According to the latest new car application information of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, SAIC GM Buick Yinglong models and Chevrolet Kruze have all added a version of the L2B 1.5L inline four-cylinder engine. The two models are expected to go on sale in the second quarter of this year, and four-cylinder versions of the Buick Vera and Ankora GX are also under consideration, according to people familiar with the matter.

According to the declaration information, the two new models are equipped with L2B 1.5L in-line four-cylinder naturally aspirated engine, which is also the model carried by the 1.5L model before Yinglong's mid-term transformation. In the new model, the 1.5L engine has a maximum power of 113 horsepower (83 kilowatts), meeting the national six emissions, but one horsepower lower than the old Yinglang 1.5L during the five-year period. The transmission system has not been announced, with reference to the old Yinglong, the new model may match a 5-speed manual or 6-speed manual gearbox.

By re-offering the four-cylinder engine version, GM may stop falling in the Chinese market, but will not give up the strategy of continuing to promote the three-cylinder engine. In the report, a GM spokesman in Shanghai said the company would continue to provide three-cylinder and four-cylinder engines in the future, but declined to comment on the product plan.

Shi Hong, deputy general manager of SAIC GM, also said in an interview with the media earlier that it does not rule out the possibility of carrying three-cylinder engines on larger models. SAIC GM will still adhere to the three-cylinder engine strategy in response to fuel consumption requirements.

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