General Motors de Argentina S.R.L.
[ is the Argentine subsidiary of the US-based company General Motors. The company is currently headquartered in ]Vicente López, Buenos Aires
Vicente López is a neighborhood in Vicente López Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is a suburb in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area.
It currently has about 24,078 inhabitants. It is bounded to the north by Olivos, to the west by ...
, with its factory located in Alvear, Santa Fe Province
The Province of Santa Fe ( es, Provincia de Santa Fe, ) is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco (divided by the 28th parallel south), Corrientes, Entre RÃ ...
.[General Motors Argentina]
on Páginas Amarillas
The seal of GM itself arrived in Argentina in 1922, through two importers that brought to the country the first models of Chevrolet. The company was founded in 1925, almost 17 years after the US plant was created, initially settling in San Telmo
San Telmo ("Saint Pedro González Telmo") is the oldest ''barrio'' (neighborhood) of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is a well-preserved area of the Argentine metropolis and is characterized by its colonial buildings. Cafes, tango parlors and antiqu ...
and then moving to the neighborhood of Barracas. Years later it would have its definitive installation in the historic site of the Buenos Aires town of San MartÃn. During this period the company manufactured models of the brands Chevrolet, Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it pro ...
, Cadillac, Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
, LaSalle, Oakland, Marquette, Buick and Opel, the first having success.
With the installation of the San MartÃn factory production of the first 100% national Chevrolets began, among which the 400
__NOTOC__
Year 400 ( CD) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Stilicho and Aurelianus (or, less frequently, year ...
, Chevy
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and oust ...
(both versions derived from the Chevrolet Nova) and the C-10 pickup truck and the Opel K 180
The Opel K 180 is an automobile which was manufactured by GM Argentina S.A. from 1974 to 1978. It was a variation of General Motors' T-car platform, also used in the Opel Kadett, Chevrolet Chevette and Isuzu Gemini. The K 180 differed ...
. Despite having led the market for quite some time, the sharp fall in sales of the company forced the closure of this in 1978.
Despite this closure, companies such as Sevel
Sevel S.p.A. (acronym of "Società Europea Veicoli Leggeri" - "Société Européenne de Véhicules Légers" (''European Light Vehicle Company'')) is an Italian automotive company which produces light commercial vehicles. It was first established ...
and Renault Argentina
Renault Argentina is the Argentine subsidiary of the French car manufacturer Renault. It is one of the oldest Renault operations in the world and is ranked consistently in first place by sales between the local automakers.
Renault Argentina was off ...
got licenses to manufacture Chevrolet pickup trucks in Argentina until 1994, when General Motors re-started operations in the country. From then on, GM has been producing Chevrolet sedans such as the Corsa, Agile, and Cruze.
History
First years
The history of GM in Argentina can be traced to 1922 when Hampton and Watson (that commercialised in Argentina cars bought and imported from General Motors signed an agreement with the parent company to begin assembling the first Chevrolet models in Argentina, importing the majority of their components from the US, then assembling the cars in the country, only adding the seat covers and some minor parts.[Historia de Chevrolet en Argentina]
on Test del Ayer The first model (a Doble Phaeton) was released in 1924, produced in the Chevrolet factory near Dársena Sur of port of Buenos Aires
The Port of Buenos Aires ( es, Puerto de Buenos Aires) is the principal maritime port in Argentina. Operated by the ''Administración General de Puertos'' (General Ports Administration), a state enterprise, it is the leading transshipment point fo ...
. In 1924, H&W ceased their representation of Chevrolet in Argentina, selling their contract to GM USA which took over the local subsidiary, therefore "General Motors de Argentina" was established. The company rented a warehouse on Ingeniero Huergo Avenue in San Telmo
San Telmo ("Saint Pedro González Telmo") is the oldest ''barrio'' (neighborhood) of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is a well-preserved area of the Argentine metropolis and is characterized by its colonial buildings. Cafes, tango parlors and antiqu ...
, supplying it with modern machinery so the new plant was established.
The first Chevrolet assembled in Argentina was the Doble Phaeton, consisted of local and imported materials to reduce cost and help local entrepreneurs develop their business. The car, named ''Campeón'' was released in 1925 at m$n2,085.[ GMA expanded its business to 400 representatives, selling more than 6,000 units in Argentina. That first Chevrolet model had five versions, including 2 and 4-door sedan, voiturette, and a light truck.][GM Argentina - historia]
on Autohistoria website (archived, 4 Jul 2009) Only two weeks after its release, GMA received 2,000 orders. By then, Argentina had a population of 10 million inhabitants and only 180,000 automobiles so the demand for those vehicles would increase in subsequent years. At the end of 1925, 7,930 cars and 521 trucks had been sold through 100 official dealers.[
Apart from Chevrolet, GMA expanded its range of brands in Argentina, with the addition of ]Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it pro ...
(assembled), Cadillac, and LaSalle (imported). In February 1926, the company reached 10,000 units produced.[
]
Development
GMA sales increased considerably. Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
and Oakland brands were added to the local production. The company sold 8,000 cars and 500 trucks a year, reaching 10,000 units in 1926. As the demand grew, the capacity of the factory was overloaded so the company was in search of a new location to move its production. Three years later, the new 48,000 m2 plant in the barrio of Barracas was inaugurated. During those times, the Buick, Cadillac, Marquette, LaSalle and Opel GM's brands were added to produce their vehicles in Argentina. Production reached 27,000 vehicles a year.
By 1931, GMA manufactured in Argentina products from its complete list of brands. Three years later the company produced 120 vehicles a day, with Chevrolet also supplying "colectivos
''Colectivo'' (English: collective bus) is the name given in Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Paraguay to a type of public transportation vehicle, especially those of Argentina's capital city, Buenos Aires. The name comes from ''vehÃculos de tran ...
" (buses) for passenger public transport. In 1939, GMA acquired a site in General San MartÃn Partido
General San MartÃn Partido is a partido in the Gran Buenos Aires urban area, immediately to the north-west of the Capital federal in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
The provincial subdivision has a population of 422,830 inhabitants in an ar ...
of Greater Buenos Aires to establish another factory. Those lands were the property of the Central Argentine Railway
The Central Argentine Railway, referred to as CA below, (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Central Argentino) was one of the ''Big Four'' broad gauge, British companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The company had been establis ...
. The factory opened in 1940, producing not only vehicles but refrigerators (under the "Frigidaire" brand), and automobile components such as batteries.
The birth of the racing car series Turismo Carretera
Turismo Carretera ( Road racing, lit., ''Road Touring'') is a popular stock car racing series in Argentina, and the oldest auto racing series still active in the world. The series is organized by Asociación Corredores de Turismo Carretera.
Th ...
(that would become very popular) encouraged GMA to compete with its models, with some legendary drivers like Juan Manuel Fangio being sponsored by Chevrolet. Fangio's run on TC was relatively short, but he won its first title in the category in 1940, the "Gran Premio Internacional del Norte", a 9,500-km length race between Buenos Aires and Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, RÃmac and LurÃn Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...
. Fangio's victory onboard a green Chevrolet coupe was also the first title won by the brand.
When the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
entered World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, operations in Argentina became complicated. The interruption of imports to Argentina caused a lack of components to assemble vehicles. As a result, the Barracas factory ceased operations temporarily until the war finished. When production restarted, the first models released by GMA were Oldsmobile and Pontiac, with the addition of Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
trucks from England. Chevrolet cars were later added to production.
First fully-Argentine vehicles
In 1959 GMA refurbished the San MartÃn factory to produce fully-manufactured models, with the intention of develop local production and ceasing the import of components. One year later, the company released the C/K "Apache" pickup, becoming the first GM vehicle totally produced in the country.
Following that, the first GMA sedan came in 1962, when the subsidiary released the Chevrolet 400
The Chevrolet 400 was a compact car made by General Motors de Argentina from 1962 to 1974. The "400" was General Motors's reply to Ford and Chrysler after those companies introduced the first compact cars to Argentina, the Ford Falcon and Valiant ...
, a compact car based on the American Nova. This model lasted –with modest sales– until 1974.[ Apart from those models, GMA produced truck chassis and Bedford buses. In 1969, the "Chevy" (the third generation of US Nova) was launched in Argentina, originally as a 4-door sedan, then adding a 2-door version in 1971. GMA thought that car as a competitor of ]Ford Falcon
Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate applied to several vehicles worldwide.
* Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970.
* Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford Argentina from 1962 until 1991.
* Fo ...
and IKA-Renault Torino, similar-sized vehicles in the local market. The ''Chevy'' became the most acclaimed model of GMA until then, with 65,970 units produced (1969–78).[Historia del Chevy]
by Alejandro Franco on Autos de Culto while in 1970 the firm reached 75,000 vehicles produced.
Decline
By 1971, GMA exported 11,719 vehicles to several countries. Three years later, the company introduced a mid-size car, the Opel K 180
The Opel K 180 is an automobile which was manufactured by GM Argentina S.A. from 1974 to 1978. It was a variation of General Motors' T-car platform, also used in the Opel Kadett, Chevrolet Chevette and Isuzu Gemini. The K 180 differed ...
(derived from German Opel Kadett, but equipped with an engine fully-produced in Argentina). Nevertheless, the market share of the company began decreasing considerably from 9% to 2% within two years. In 1978 GMA produced only 5,876 vehicles. GMA reported loss of USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
30 million and the parent company decided to close the factories and the immediate cessation of activities in Argentina in 1978. By the time of its closure, GMA had produced a total of 195,000 cars and 207,000 pickups.
Return to operations
In 1985, Argentine company Sevel
Sevel S.p.A. (acronym of "Società Europea Veicoli Leggeri" - "Société Européenne de Véhicules Légers" (''European Light Vehicle Company'')) is an Italian automotive company which produces light commercial vehicles. It was first established ...
(that had manufactured Fiat and Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...
in its factory of El Palomar) signed an agreement with General Motors to produce the C-10 pickup under license. The pickup was manufactured in Estación Ferreyra, a city in Córdoba Province. The C-10 was equipped with an Indenor XDII engine by Peugeot. Production ceased in 1991, when the agreement expired.
Finally, GMA returned in 1994 to build the D-20 pickup, a replacement for the C-10 series. The original project also included the production of 25,000 within a year, apart from exporting 19,000 to Mercosur
The Southern Common Market, commonly known by Spanish abbreviation Mercosur, and Portuguese Mercosul, is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full members are Arge ...
affiliates. At a cost of near USD300 million, a new factory was built in Alvear, near Rosario, Santa Fe. It opened in 1997, where the first model, the Chevrolet Corsa (rebranded from the original Opel model). That same year, production of Silverado pickup also began in Alvear. By October 2007, 500,000 Corsa had been produced in Argentina, reaching to 650,000 in March 2009.
In late 2008, GMA came up with a project to a new vehicle fully developed in the region. As a result, "GM Mercosur" (a new company that amalgamated Argentine and Brazilian GM subsidiaries) was established. The model, named "Chevrolet Agile
The Chevrolet Agile is a subcompact car that was developed by Chevrolet in Brazil and built in Argentina.
Based on the "GPiX Concept" which was introduced at the 2008 São Paulo Auto Show, the Agile went on sale in 2009 and competes with the Vol ...
", was a subcompact car produced in Alvear.
The second generation of the Chevrolet Corsa appeared in 2010 and was named ''Classic'', with two versions, sedan and wagon. The 3-door Corsa was discontinued, being replaced by the Chevrolet Celta
The Chevrolet Celta, also known as the Suzuki Fun, is a low cost supermini car produced by Chevrolet for the Latin American market between 2000 and 2015. A sedan version is marketed as the Chevrolet Prisma. 600,000 Celtas have been built in Gr ...
, imported from Brazil. The Classic wagon was produced until 2012 while the 4-door lasted until 2016. The Agile was also discontinued in 2016. They were replaced by Chevrolet Prisma and Chevrolet Onix respectively, both produced in Brazil.
As of August 2020, Chevrolet Cruze
The Chevrolet Cruze is a compact car that is produced by General Motors since 2008. It was designated as a globally developed, designed, and manufactured four-door compact sedan, complemented by a five-door hatchback body variant from 2011, and ...
was the only sedan fully-produced in Argentina. In April 2022 the Tracker, a subcompact crossover SUV which had been imported from Brazil, began to be produced in Argentina at the General Alvear factory in Santa Fe Province. Nevertheless, GMA did not officially announced this until June 2022.General Motors inicia la producción del Tracker en Argentina
on Parabrisas, 8 Jun 2022
Produced models
List of fully-manufactured models by General Motors Argentina. In case the country of origin's marque differs from the Argentine model, it is indicated.
Current models
Past models
;Notes
Imported models
All of the Chevrolet brand, except where indicates:
Cars
* Astra
* Aveo
* Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro share ...
* Caprice
Caprice, from the Italian ''capriccio'', may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* ''Caprice'' (1913 film), a film starring Mary Pickford
* ''Caprices'' (film), a 1942 French comedy film
* ''Caprice'' (1967 film), a film starring Richard Harris ...
* Celta
Celta is Galician, Portuguese and Spanish for the Celts. It may also refer to:
* Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA), an English teaching certificate
* Celta (train), an international train service connecting Vigo and Port ...
* Corvette
* Citation (1981–?) ["Los vehÃculos importados por GMODC" on Archivo de Autos blogsite, 17 Nov 2019]
* Cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, p ...
* Impala
* Kadett
Kadett corresponds to Cadet in English and is a term used in Sweden to denote officer candidates studying in order to become an officer.
There are basically two ways to become officer as described below.
Specialist Officers (SO)
Direct recruitment ...
* Malibu
* Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
* Monza
* Onix
* Prisma
* Spark
Spark commonly refers to:
* Spark (fire), a small glowing particle or ember
* Electric spark, a form of electrical discharge
Spark may also refer to:
Places
* Spark Point, a rocky point in the South Shetland Islands
People
* Spark (surname)
* ...
* Vectra
* GMC Chevette
The GMC Chevette is an automobile which was manufactured from 1992 to 1995 by General Motors do Brasil specifically for the Argentine market, where it was sold by both Chevrolet and Renault dealers. This was the result of a deal having been made w ...
* Cadillac Seville
The Seville was manufactured by Cadillac from 1975 to 2004 as a smaller-sized, premium model. It was replaced by the STS in 2004.
Origin of the name
The name of "Cadillac's first small car" was selected over a revival of LaSalle or the GM de ...
(1981–?) [
* ]Opel Monza
The Opel Monza is an executive fastback coupe produced by the German automaker Opel from 1977 to 1986. It was marketed in the United Kingdom as the Vauxhall Royale Coupé by Vauxhall.
Monza A1 (1977–1982)
The Monza was planned as a succ ...
(1981–?) [
* ]Opel Rekord
The Opel Rekord is a large family car which was built in eight generations by the German car manufacturer Opel. Between 1953 and 1986, approximately ten million were sold.
In 1986, the Rekord nameplate was replaced by the Opel Omega.
Naming
...
(1981–?) [
]
SUVs
* Blazer
A blazer is a type of jacket resembling a suit jacket, but cut more casually. A blazer is generally distinguished from a sport coat as a more formal garment and tailored from solid colour fabrics. Blazers often have naval-style metal buttons ...
* Captiva
* Equinox
A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...
* Spin
* Tracker
* Trailblazer
Pickups
* Avalanche
An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain.
Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and eart ...
* Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
* S-10
Trucks
* Kodiak
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Automotive industry in Argentina
Argentine subsidiaries of foreign companies
Car manufacturers of Argentina
General Motors subsidiaries
Argentine companies established in 1925
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1925