RHD Chevy Camaro Cancelled for U.K.

Chevrolet is giving up on the idea of bringing a right-hand drive version of the Chevy Camaro to the U.K. The Camaro, which arrives as a 2010 model year car in the U.S. this spring, will make its way to parts of Europe by 2012.

It seems the company would still like to bring some Camaros to the U.K., but as left-hand-drive cars. Chevy will send 100 Camaros, half of which will be convrtibles, to Britain. All of these will feature a 500 horsepower 6.2-liter V8 originally built for the Corvette.

As recent as last summer, GM reportedly planned on bringing several hundred Camaro units to the U.K. These units were to be evenly split as coupes and ragtops. This was going to be an expansion of the Chevy brand in Great Britain, where Chevrolet vehicles are commonly thought of as entry-level budget cars.

What is unclear is if the car is being abandoned worldwide as a right-hand drive. Other important markets using right-side drivers include Australia, India, and Japan. GM subsidiary Holden was slated to build the car for the Australia/New Zealand market. GM recently cancelled the introduction of the Cadillac brand to Australia and New Zealand, citing the economy as a main reason.

Abandoning the RHD Camaro for the U.K. is mainly seen as a financial move. GM is doing anything they can to hold on to their dwindling cash reserves, most of which comes from a bailout loan given by the U.S. government.

GM still expects a profit on U.K. sales of the Chevrolet Camaro. The car will sell with a £35,000 sticker price. At that price, one must wonder if potential U.K. customers would consider buying a left-hand-drive in the U.S. and importing it themselves. Potentially, this could bring the price to below £30,000.