Mini-Cars & Fuel Efficiency

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GM May Sell Mini-Cars to Fuel-Conscious U.S. Buyers (Update3)

July 3 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., which popularized the 7,800-pound Hummer, may begin selling a mini-car more than a foot shorter than anything else it markets in the U.S. to win back buyers deterred by record fuel prices.

GM may bring the production version of the Chevrolet Beat to the U.S., people familiar with the plan said. The car, which would normally be reserved for markets such as Asia and Latin America, gets as much as 40 miles a gallon, a fuel efficiency topped in the U.S. only by hybrids.

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Besides the Beat, GM is weighing a list of options for refocusing its auto lineup on fuel efficiency rather than performance. They include the U.S. introduction of a small pickup popular in Latin America and an expansion of the number of versions of the Volt plug-in electric car, the people said.

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The automaker unveiled the Beat as a prototype at the New York auto show in April 2007, along with two other 40 mpg Chevy small-car concepts. Besides two hybrid models, the only car in the U.S. that comes close to the Beat's projected fuel efficiency is Daimler AG's Smart car, with 36 mpg, according to Yahoo! Autos.