Chevrolet celebrates its 100th Anniversary

General Motors Middle East is gearing up for a five-month period of celebratory activities to commemorate the 100^th Anniversary of Chevrolet.

On November 3, 1911, Swiss immigrant Louis Chevrolet and U.S. entrepreneur Billy Durant founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Company.

Today, Chevrolet is one of the world’s best-known and most popular automotive brands with more than 200 million Chevrolet vehicles sold over the past 100 years. In 2010 alone, more than 4.2 million Chevrolets were sold in over 130 countries – or about one Chevrolet every seven-and-a-half seconds.

Chevrolet has become part of the fabric of life in the Middle East and has influenced the region’s automotive history ever since the first Chevrolet vehicles were introduced to the region in the early 20^th Century.

Chevrolet helped to blaze a trail in the Middle East that would revolutionize transport, shorten travel times, open up vast areas of previously inaccessible desert, and change the lives and fortunes of the region’s people for ever.

“This year’s centennial is a great chance to reflect on the passion and emotion that has made Chevrolet what it is today. It’s also an important opportunity to look ahead as we build on the promise of the Chevrolet brand to make it as relevant tomorrow as it has been for the past 100 years,” said John Stadwick, President and Managing Director of GM Middle East.

“Chevrolet was built on the cornerstones of value, reliability, performance and expressive design.  For millions of Chevrolet customers in the Middle East and around the world, it continues to represent these same qualities today.”

GM Middle East will celebrate the Centennial with a number of activities. This will include special premieres of the movie Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon, which features several Chevrolet vehicles, including the Camaro Bumblebee.

Unique photographs, videos and fun Chevrolet activities will be displayed on the Chevrolet Arabia Facebook page (www.facebook.com/chevroletarabia).

GM Middle East is also planning various events across the Middle East to celebrate Chevrolet’s milestone anniversary.

“We’ll be able to tell you more about the planned Centennial activities the closer we get to the actual centennial date of 3 November. We’re looking forward to celebrating this special milestone with everyone in the Middle East,” added Stadwick.

Chevrolet’s Centennial is being celebrated across the globe. Last week at the Indianapolis 500, which also celebrates its centennial this year, the race was paced by a 2011 Camaro SS Convertible – the 22^nd Chevrolet to have the honor. Using a Chevrolet as a pace car was fitting as Louis Chevrolet’s brother Arthur competed in the first Indy 500 in 1911, while Louis himself competed in the 1915 and 1919 races.

On 19 June, the Louis Chevrolet Rally will be held in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland – the birth place of Chevrolet’s founder. The rally will bring together 1,000 Chevrolets from all over the world, dating from 1911 to the present day.