2016 Chevrolet Cruze hatchback coming to North America

2013 Chevrolet Cruze hatchback pictured

Chevrolet’s compact Cruze lineup will include a hatchback body style when the 2016 model goes on sale in Canada, according to a report from Automotive News.

The news comes from a Chevrolet dealer convention in Las Vegas, where the company showed off the redesigned Cruze last week; the car is set to be officially revealed later this week by GM CEO Mary Barra. In that Automotive News report, Mark Reuss, GM’s exec VP for product development, said the decision to leave the first-gen Cruze hatch out of North America was a bad decision made during the company’s bankruptcy planning.

Chevy would stand to benefit significantly from offering the Cruze five-door here, where just about every other mainstream brand has a compact hatch in its lineup. Factor in the Cruze’s appealing drive characteristics and the potential of a diesel engine (offered in the current Cruze sedan, albeit only with a buzzkill automatic transmission) and you’ve got a car that could make a serious splash.

We’d like to suggest how Chevy could really blow us out of the water: be brave like Volkswagen, and bring us a station wagon model, too. The first-gen was sold as a wagon, and a durned good-looking one at that. We won’t hold our breath for that, but it’s good to have hope.

Look for the new Cruze sedan to reach Canadian dealers in early 2016, with the hatchback to follow later, but also as a 2016 model.