Until recently, General Motors was keeping several routes open for Chevrolet’s new compact electric car. Now the story is getting much more interesting: if GM ultimately decides to build the future hatchback in Brazil, the most likely site has already been named. It is the PACE plant in Horizonte, Ceará. A final decision, however, has not been made.
The story moved forward after GM’s August 31 announcement. The automaker confirmed a protocol of intent with SAIC-GM-Wuling and said one of the projects under consideration is a new compact Chevrolet electric hatchback for South America. Production in Brazil was only one possible scenario, with no specific plant named and no promise that the assembly line would start.
Now the list of options is much shorter. GM South America Vice President Fabio Rua said that if local assembly is chosen, Ceará is the leading candidate because the region has already built expertise in new powertrain technologies. GM’s own plants in São Caetano do Sul, São José dos Campos and Gravataí are not currently being considered for vehicles tied to the Chinese project. Joint development of all-new models from scratch is also not part of the agreement at this stage.
And this route can no longer be called an experiment. PACE began assembling the Spark EUV on December 3, 2025, and the Captiva EV joined it on June 17, 2026. Next comes the Captiva PHEV: GM plans to start production of the plug-in hybrid in Horizonte in November 2026.
So where does that leave the project? GM still has not given a final “yes” to local assembly of the new electric hatchback, but the production path is becoming increasingly obvious. If the project stays in Brazil, the road now points strongly toward Ceará. There is still an alternative: importing finished vehicles.
