Company overview
Chevrolet is an American automobile division of General Motors. It began as the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911, founded by Louis and Arthur Chevrolet, along with William C. Durant. Durant acquired a controlling stake in General Motors through a reverse merger in 1918, and later became president of the company. Alfred Sloan played a key role in establishing Chevrolet as General Motors’ volume leader, competing with Ford in the 1920s. The company initially produced trucks rebranded as Chevrolet, and later introduced vehicles such as the Corvette in 1953. Throughout its history, Chevrolet has competed with Ford and Chrysler, introducing models like the “Stovebolt” engine in 1929 and the Corvair in 1960. In the 1970s and 80s, Chevrolet imported Japanese models to compete with smaller imports. More recently, in 2005, Chevrolet was reintroduced into Europe using rebadged Daewoo vehicles. The company’s small-block V8 engine has been continuously produced since 1955. Following the 2008 financial crisis, GM discontinued Pontiac and Saturn, consolidating some models into Chevrolet’s lineup. The Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid was introduced in 2010 and became the world’s best-selling plug-in hybrid by 2015.
