Spy shots: Next-gen Chevrolet Aveo delayed until January 2011

The Chevrolet Beat has been paraded around the last several auto shows as the forerunner to the production Spark hatchback revealed at March’s Geneva Motor Show, which will sit just below the Aveo as Chevy's smallest car. In the past couple of months, spy photos of a Spark-styled but slightly larger vehicle have been captured as it undergoes testing at Germany’s notorious Nurburgring circuit and it is thought to be the next-generation Aveo.

The 2009 Aveo just began North American production in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, in August of last year, but GM is already be working on a replacement.
It won’t be on sale for until January 2011, however, due to GM’s current financial turmoil, which has also affected its Daewoo Auto and Technology South Korean subsidiary. The information was revealed in GM product development plans obtained by Reuters from an auto parts supplier.

The car spotted in the spy shots definitely shares traits with the Spark, possibly reflecting a next-generation styling direction for Chevrolet's small global cars. The stacked double-circle tail lights, rear hatch/spoiler area and sloping roof line are all very similar between the two. Chevrolet badges are also clearly seen underneath stickers on the wheels, leaving little doubt as to its brand identity, and given Chevrolet's lineup, the place for a car slightly bigger than the Spark is where the Aveo currently sits.

Character lines along the side of the car in the spy shots are different from the spark, however, indicating its size difference and possibly helping to differentiate the two stylistically. The headlights are also different, with two side-by-side circular lamps instead of the Spark's giant tear-drop shaped unit.

The interior of the car spotted is very nearly identical to the Spark, however, especially around the instrument panel and center stack area, again possibly reflecting a new interior brand identity.