General Motors insists sales of the Chevrolet Onix Eco in Brazil are going “very well.” There’s just one problem — the company won’t say how well. No order numbers, no registration figures. What it will show you is the price: the turbocharged, automatic-equipped hatchback costs 99,990 reais. That’s 2,900 reais less than the base Onix 1.0 MT, the naturally aspirated, manual-transmission entry point of the lineup. An automatic cheaper than a manual — sounds like a typo. It isn’t.
The catch is what got sacrificed to get there. The savings required ditching Brazil’s beloved flex-fuel technology. The Onix Eco can’t run on gasoline at all — its turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine is calibrated exclusively for ethanol. Output lands at 115 hp and 16.8 kgf·m of torque, or roughly 165 Nm, paired with a six-speed automatic. A US-published figure of 137 lb-ft, equivalent to about 186 Nm, doesn’t match Chevrolet’s official specification.
The low price comes courtesy of the federal Carro Sustentavel program. It factors in full-cycle emissions from production and fuel use, the share of recyclable materials, and how much of the manufacturing happens inside Brazil. Thanks to the incentive, the hatchback’s price dropped from 103,190 to 99,990 reais, while the Onix Plus Eco sedan fell from 106,990 to 103,990 reais. Set against the rest of the lineup, the gap is hard to miss.
Turbocharged Onix versions that can still run on gasoline start at 104,690 reais. The Eco, meanwhile, arrives standard with the automatic gearbox, six airbags, a rear-view camera and an infotainment system — all for less money. The catch is baked into the fuel restriction: how much you actually save depends on ethanol’s price and availability where you live.
GM isn’t just chasing individual buyers. It’s also targeting companies looking to shrink their fleets’ carbon footprint. Fabio Rua, GM’s vice president for South America, singled out corporate buyers when discussing the model’s strong start. For now, that assessment remains the automaker’s own — GM hasn’t released separate sales figures for the Onix Eco.
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