GM looks at low-cost mini cars

DETROIT — General Motors Corp.’s top global product planner said Friday the company is taking a serious look at bringing low-cost mini cars to the U.S. market capable of achieving as high as 50 miles per gallon of gasoline and breaking ground in a virtually nonexistent segment in the world’s biggest auto market.

GM Group Vice President John Smith said the auto maker is still in very early stages of investigating the U.S. market’s appetite for mini cars. Such vehicles are significantly smaller than sub-compact cars currently sold in the region by several players. GM sells a Chevrolet Aveo sub-compact car in the U.S., but nothing smaller.

“The honest answer is, I don’t know yet how serious we are,” Smith said, referring to the mini car segment.

The auto maker plans to show three different models of mini cars Wednesday at the New York auto show. In coming months GM will collect research data to gauge consumer interest through an online voting campaign at www.vote4chevrolet.com.

The vehicles to be shown in New York are based on the tiny Chevrolet Matiz and Spark that are sold in several markets, including Europe and Asia, and in hot demand internationally due to space constraints and high gasoline prices. Smith admits that in past customer studies in the U.S “there hasn’t been a whole lot of hand-raising for things as small of the Matiz,” partially because Americans, who pay relatively little for gasoline compared with drivers in other countries, prefer bigger vehicles.

While the auto maker is seeing an uptick in demand for small cars in the U.S. due to increasing energy concerns, there is no hard evidence that buyers will flock to mini cars unless gas prices take a serious upward hike.

“Our internal forecast shows gas at $2.50 a gallon for quite some time to come,” Smith said, noting that stability in that price range won’t seriously change consumer demand or inspire “a seismic shift in consumption habits.”

There currently is not a mini car sold in the U.S., but DaimlerChrysler AG will launch its Smart micro-car brand here next year in an effort to create a niche market. BMW AG does sell a model called the Mini Cooper, but that vehicle is actually much larger than actual mini cars. Several auto makers sell mini cars around the globe, but there is little indication a flood of tiny vehicles aimed at U.S. buyers will be launched in coming years.