GM cancels plans to sell Chevy Orlando in U.S., dreams of 7-seat Voltec dead

If you've been eagerly awaiting the chance to buy a seven-passenger, Voltec-powered minivan crossover, you'll have to wait a lot. General Motors has officially announced that it will not sell the upcoming Chevy Orlando in the U.S. The change in plans was immediate and unexpected, dashing our hopes of a Voltec Orlando.

Back in January of 2009, GM announced that it would begin offering the Orlando here in 2011 and many have been eagerly anticipating the new CUV. The Orlando shares platforms with the Cruze and Volt, making the adoption of the Voltec powertrain at a later point quite easy. The announcement to cancel the Orlando in the U.S. came from Margaret Brooks, Chevrolet's product marketing director for small cars and crossovers. As she said:

The best thing to do for Chevrolet is to focus on the brands we've already brought to market: the Traverse, Equinox, Malibu and, soon to come, the Cruze. We feel that with those vehicles, Chevrolet has plenty of options for the modern family.

While the announcement came from Brooks, the decision to cancel the Orlando was up to Mark Reuss, GM's North American president. The Orlando will still be available in other markets, including Canada, Europe and Asia, but once again, as it so often goes, we're not getting this vehicle here.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]