History of Chevrolet in Timeline

Chevrolet, often called Chevy or Chev, is a prominent American automobile division of General Motors (GM). It's a major brand within GM's global portfolio. Chevrolet manufactures and markets a diverse range of vehicles in North America, encompassing everything from compact cars to medium-duty trucks. The brand's strong recognition leads to its name sometimes being used synonymously with General Motors itself or its products, such as the GM LS1 engine being linked to the Chevrolet small-block engine.

1904: Durant Took Over Flint Wagon Works and Buick

In 1904, William Durant took over the Flint Wagon Works and Buick Motor Company of Flint, Michigan.

1908: Durant Founded General Motors

William Durant had founded General Motors in 1908.

1910: Durant Dismissed from General Motors

In 1910, William C. Durant was dismissed from his senior management position at General Motors, a company he founded in 1908.

November 3, 1911: Chevrolet Motor Car Company Founded

On November 3, 1911, Louis Chevrolet, Arthur Chevrolet, and William C. Durant started the Chevrolet Motor Car Company.

November 8, 1911: Chevrolet Motor Car Company Incorporated

On November 8, 1911, the Chevrolet Motor Car Company was officially incorporated, founded by Louis and Arthur Chevrolet, William C. Durant, and several investment partners.

November 12, 1911: Coalettes Advertisement

On November 12, 1911, an example logo appeared in an advertisement for Coalettes in the Atlanta Constitution.

1911: Design Work for the Series C Classic Six

In 1911, design work for the first Chevy, the costly Series C Classic Six, was drawn up by Etienne Planche, following instructions from Louis Chevrolet.

1912: R. S. McLaughlin Joins Chevrolet

In 1912, R. S. McLaughlin, CEO of General Motors in Canada, joined the Chevrolet Motor Car Company as an investment partner.

1912: First C Prototype Ready

In 1912, the first C prototype was ready months before Chevrolet was actually incorporated, and fine tuned throughout the early part of 1912.

1913: First Chevrolet Production Model

The first actual Chevrolet production model was released in 1913.

1914: First Use of Bowtie Emblem

In 1914, Chevrolet first used the "bowtie emblem" logo on the H series models (Royal Mail and Baby Grand) and The L Series Model (Light Six).

1914: Louis Chevrolet Sells Share

In 1914, Louis Chevrolet sold his share in the company to Durant due to design differences.

1916: Durant Repurchases Controlling Interest

By 1916, with the success of the cheaper Series 490, Chevrolet was profitable enough to allow Durant to repurchase a controlling interest in General Motors.

May 2, 1918: Reverse Merger with General Motors

On May 2, 1918, Durant used the Chevrolet Motor Car Company to acquire a controlling stake in General Motors through a reverse merger.

1918: Durant Becomes President of General Motors

In 1918, after the deal was completed, Durant became president of General Motors, and Chevrolet was merged into GM as a separate division. In 1918 Chevrolet introduced the Series D, a V8-powered model.

1919: GMC Trucks Rebranded as Chevrolet

Beginning in 1919, GMC commercial grade trucks were rebranded as Chevrolet, sharing chassis and appearance with Chevrolet passenger cars.

1919: Chevrolet Competes with Ford Model T

In 1919, Alfred Sloan designated Chevrolet to compete with Ford's Model T by selling mainstream vehicles.

1919: Chevrolet Factory Locations

In 1919, Chevrolet's factories were located at Flint, Michigan, and branch assembly locations were sited in various cities.

1919: Campbell Ewald Serves Chevrolet

Since 1919, Campbell-Ewald had served Chevrolet as an advertising agency, before being replaced in 2010.

January 1921: Chevrolet Headquarters Relocated

Until 1921, Chevrolet Corporate headquarters were located at 57th and Broadway in New York City until January when the office was relocated to the General Motors Building at Cadillac Place in Detroit. In January 1921 a General Motors management survey recommended that the Chevrolet Division be cancelled, but Alfred P. Sloan Jr. recommended that the division be saved and William S. Knudsen was made Vice President of Operations.

May 1925: Chevrolet Export Boxing Plant Repurposed

In May 1925, the Chevrolet Export Boxing plant at Bloomfield, New Jersey was repurposed from a previous owner where Knock-down kits for Chevrolet, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac passenger cars, and both Chevrolet and G. M. C. truck parts are crated and shipped by railroad to the docks at Weehawken, New Jersey for overseas GM assembly factories.

1928: Plymouth Joins Low-Priced Three

After the Chrysler Corporation formed Plymouth in 1928, Plymouth, Ford, and Chevrolet were known as the "Low-priced three".

1929: Chevrolet Overtakes Ford in Sales

By 1929, Chevrolet overtook Ford as the best-selling car in the United States with the Chevrolet International.

1929: Introduction of Stovebolt Engine

In 1929, Chevrolet introduced the "Stovebolt" overhead-valve inline six-cylinder engine, giving them a marketing edge over Ford.

September 23, 1933: GM Corporation Stock Given to McLaughlin's

On September 23, 1933, McLaughlin's were given GM Corporation stock for the proprietorship of their Company.

1933: Launch of the Standard Six

In 1933 Chevrolet launched the Standard Six, advertised as the cheapest six-cylinder car on sale in the United States.

1941: Death of Louis Chevrolet

Louis Chevrolet passed away in 1941.

1946: Death of Arthur Chevrolet

Arthur Chevrolet passed away in 1946.

1947: Death of William C. Durant

William C. Durant passed away in 1947.

1953: Introduction of the Corvette

In 1953, Chevrolet produced the Corvette, a two-seater sports car with a fiberglass body.

1955: Debut of the Small-Block V8 Engine

In 1955, the basic Chevrolet small-block V8 design made its debut and has remained in continuous production since.

1957: Fuel Injected Engine Introduced

In 1957, Chevy introduced its first fuel injected engine, the Rochester Ramjet option on Corvette and Chevrolet Bel Air passenger cars.

1960: Introduction of the Corvair

In 1960, Chevrolet joined the "compact car" market by introducing the Corvair, with a rear-mounted air-cooled engine.

1963: Chevrolet Sales Peak

In 1963, one out of every ten cars sold in the United States was a Chevrolet.

2000: Return of the Impala

In 2000, Chevrolet brought back the iconic Impala as a mid-sized front-wheel drive four-door sedan.

2000: FutureBrand begins working with General Motors

In 2000, FutureBrand, part of Interpublic Group of Companies, began working with General Motors. The collaboration included commissioning a font later sold as Klavika Condensed.

2004: Chevrolet Unifies with Gold Bowtie Logo

In 2004, Chevrolet unified all vehicle models with the gold bowtie, to differentiate itself from Ford and Dodge.

2005: Chevrolet Relaunched in Europe

In 2005, Chevrolet was relaunched in Europe, primarily selling vehicles built by GM Daewoo of South Korea with the tagline "Daewoo has grown up enough to become Chevrolet".

2006: Chevrolet re-design

In 2006, as part of Chevrolet's re-design, FutureBrand was involved in the commissioning of a font that was later sold as Klavika Condensed.

2007: Economic Downturn

Chevrolet division recovered from the economic downturn of 2007-2010.

2007: Louis Chevrolet Watch Trademark

In 2007, General Motors allowed AJS-Production SA to register the Louis Chevrolet trademark for a line of premium quality Swiss watches marketed under the Louis Chevrolet brand name. The watches are not marketed or produced in association with General Motors.

2009: China Becomes Third-Largest Market

In 2009, China became Chevrolet's third-largest market, with sales of 332,774 vehicles.

May 2010: Chevrolet's advertising account awarded to Goodby, Silverstein and Partners.

In May 2010, Chevrolet's advertising account was awarded to Goodby, Silverstein and Partners, replacing Campbell Ewald.

2010: Chevrolet Operations in Over 140 Countries

As of 2010, Chevrolet had operations in over 140 countries.

2010: Chevrolet Sales in China

By 2010, Chevy sold just over half a million vehicles in China, with the Cruze being its best seller there.

2010: Chevrolet Brand Usage Memo

In 2010, a memo was sent to Chevrolet employees, instructing them to consistently use 'Chevrolet' instead of 'Chevy' to maintain a consistent brand message. A 'Chevy' can was placed in the hallway, with employees expected to deposit a quarter each time they used 'Chevy' instead of Chevrolet.

2010: Nickname Branding Debate

In 2010, following the memo incident, Ian Beavis stated that marketers cannot control consumer nicknames for products, but nicknames do not work in new markets. GM published a statement clarifying that the note did not discourage customers or fans from using the Chevy name. The Chevy Runs Deep campaign continued to use 'Chevy,' while Driving Our World Forward and Find New Roads campaigns used 'Chevrolet'.

2010: GM Starts Production of Chevrolet Volt

In late 2010 General Motors began production of the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt, sold as the Opel/Vauxhall Ampera in Europe.

2011: Record Global Sales

In 2011, Chevrolet's global sales set a record with 4.76 million vehicles sold worldwide.

2011: GM Fully Acquired GM Daewoo

In 2011, General Motors fully acquired GM Daewoo and created GM Korea. The Daewoo brand was discontinued in South Korea and succeeded by Chevrolet.

March 2012: Joint Venture: Commonwealth

In March 2012, two competing agencies, Goodby, Silverstein and Partners, and McCann Erickson Worldwide, formed an equal joint venture called Commonwealth to handle most of Chevrolet's ads worldwide, excluding China, India and Uzbekistan.

2012: Awards for Chevrolet Volt

In 2012, the Chevrolet Volt/Opel Ampera received multiple awards including the 2012 North American Car of the Year, European Car of the Year, and World Green Car of the Year.

2013: Chevrolet Announces Withdrawal from Europe

In late 2013, GM announced that the Chevrolet brand would be withdrawn from Europe from 2016 onward, except for the Camaro and Corvette.

2014: Impala Redesign

In 2014, the last generation of the Chevrolet Impala was redesigned to be larger and classified as a full-size passenger car.

October 2015: Global Volt/Ampera Sales Pass Milestone

In October 2015, combined global Chevrolet Volt/Opel Ampera sales passed the 100,000 unit milestone.

2015: Chevrolet Ad Claims Superior Reliability Based on Survey

In 2015, Chevrolet's advertisement, featuring spokesperson Potsch Boyd, claimed that Chevrolet was more reliable than Toyota, Honda, and Ford based on a nationwide survey. However, the survey was based on 2015 model year vehicles, some of which had been updated since then. Ford, Honda, and Toyota challenged the accuracy of this claim, and Consumer World noted that independent studies contradicted it.

June 2016: Volt Ranks as Top Selling Plug-in Hybrid

As of June 2016, the Chevrolet Volt family of vehicles ranks as the world's all-time top selling plug-in hybrid.

July 2016: Volt Sales Pass 100,000 in American Market

In July 2016, Chevrolet Volt sales in the American market passed the 100,000 milestone.

October 2016: Production of the Chevrolet Bolt EV Begins

In October 2016, GM began production of the Chevrolet Bolt EV, the first ever affordable mass market all-electric car with a range over 200 mi (320 km).

2016: Chevrolet Withdrawn from Europe

In 2016, Chevrolet was withdrawn from Europe, with the exception of the Camaro and Corvette, completing the announcement made in 2013.

2017: Chevrolet Bolt EV Wins Awards

In 2017, The Chevrolet Bolt won several awards including the 2017 Motor Trend Car of the Year award, the 2017 AutoGuide.com Reader's Choice Green Car of the Year, Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2017, Green Car Journal's 2017 Green Car of the Year, and was listed in Time magazine's Best 25 Inventions of the Year of 2016.

2018: Chevrolet Returns to Oceania

In 2018, Chevrolet returned to the Oceania region after a 50-year absence, represented by Holden Special Vehicles (HSV), with the launch of the Camaro and Silverado pickup truck.

December 2019: AvtoVAZ Acquires GM Stake, Continues Chevrolet Branding

In December 2019, AvtoVAZ acquired General Motors' stake in their former GM-AvtoVAZ joint venture. As part of the deal, AvtoVAZ kept using the Chevrolet branding for the Niva models.

August 2020: Chevrolet Branding Replaced with Lada

In August 2020, AvtoVAZ replaced Chevrolet branding with Lada for the Niva models.

2020: Impala Production Ends

In 2020, the Chevrolet Impala production ended.

February 14, 2021: Unveiling of 2022 Bolt EUV and Redesigned Bolt EV

On February 14, 2021, Chevrolet unveiled the 2022 Bolt EUV and redesigned Bolt EV.

2021: GMSV Takes Over Chevrolet Distribution in Oceania

In 2021, General Motors Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) assumed responsibility for the distribution and sales of Chevrolet vehicles in Oceania, commencing with the Silverado.