DETROIT – Chevrolet has reached a big number in mini cars, surpassing 1 million sales worldwide of the Spark and Beat.
It is fresh evidence of Chevrolet’s small car lineup attracting more people to the brand around the world. Earlier this year, Chevrolet sold its 3 millionth Cruze compact car.
The Spark first went on sale as the Beat in India in late 2009. Today, the Spark is available in 71 markets worldwide, selling the most in South Korea, followed by the United States and Mexico. In the U.S. sales of the Spark are up 10 percent year to date.
“Our small cars – Spark, Sonic and Cruze – attract more new car buyers to Chevrolet than any other vehicles in the lineup, with more than 60 percent of buyers never owning a Chevy before,” said Alan Batey, executive vice president of Global Chevrolet.
The Spark, along with the rest of the Chevrolet small car lineup, also attracts the youngest buyers to the brand. This year, sales of Chevrolet small cars have increased more than 9 percent for car buyers under the age of 35.
The Spark provides a young, connected buyer with features like an available MyLink infotainment system with a 7-inch diagonal color touch-screen display and available built-in OnStar 4G LTE. The built-in Wi-Fi hotspot allows up to seven devices to be connected at one time. Spark was also the first car to feature Siri Eyes Free, enabling customers with a compatible iPhone running iOS 6 or later to direct Siri to perform a number of tasks while keeping their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel.
In 2014, the Spark was the only vehicle in the mini car segment to earn the IIHS Top Safety Pick designation. Lightweight, high-strength steels constitute more than 62 percent of Spark’s under body and 42 percent of its upper body. It is also used in the roof bow and B-pillars.