GM banks on 'Transformers 4' to jump-start Chevy

With Transformers: Age of Extinction in theaters, General Motors is betting on the latest installment of the alien-robot saga to help jump-start Chevrolet sales in China.The reboot of the movie franchise, which features battling robots that convert into cars and trucks, opened in China and the United States on Friday and includes vehicles such as the Chevrolet Camaro sports car and Trax small SUV.The fourth movie in the series gives GM a marketing tool as it introduces six Chevrolets models in China this year.The goal "is to use it as a springboard for launching new products," said Tim Mahoney, the global chief marketing officer for the Chevrolet brand.The brand could use a boost in China. Chevrolet last year failed to keep pace with the nation's 16 percent growth for passenger vehicles, with sales rising 9 percent to 652,077.Transformers has melded the summer popcorn spectacle with U.S. car culture in a way that has resonated in China, where its middle class has been fueling the world's largest auto market.GM's relationship with Transformers goes back to the first film in 2007, which included a bright yellow Chevrolet Camaro called Bumblebee.Mahoney said he's seen the effect of the movie on the streets of China, where more than 70 percent of Camaro sports cars are purchased in the same color as the character.In the United States, it's just 5 percent."The yellow is pretty well associated with Chevy and I think a lot of it, I can't prove it, but I suspect a lot of it has to do with the role Bumblebee played," he said.China exposure

GM banks on 'Transformers 4' to jump-start Chevy

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