The Chevry Cruze had been scheduled to launch production at the General Motor’s Ohio factory in April of next year, but the company has just announced that the launch date has been pushed to July.

This push comes regardless of earlier launches of the Cruze in China and Europe going smoothly. The Cruze is expected to hit 40 mpg in highway driving with its new 1.4-liter turbocharged four cylinder. According to reports, the delay will also give GM time to have every variant of Cruze ready for customers on day one.

If the Chevy Cruze can get 45 MPG it’ll put the 2009 Toyota Prius, which gets 45 MPG highway, in place as real competition.

Today, General Motors released two interior photos to coincide with the Chevy Cruze’s unveiling at the Paris Motor Show this week. And can we just say that the interior looks swank? With tweed-like fabric covers and slick colored panels along with a slick, centrally-located LCD screen, the Cruze definitely trumps the Colbalt in design.

Chief designer Taewan Kim says that the new Cruze’s design is meant to be “bold, not evolutionary. We wanted to take a big step forward, making a strong design statement for Chevrolet products around the world.”

The Chevy Cruze, which is speculated to be taking the place of the Colbalt, will hit the European market in March of 2009, with U.S. production at the Lordstown, Ohio, plant, where the Cobalt is currently made, beginning in June 2010. So US buyers won’t be getting the Cruze until April 2010 as a 2011 model.

On 2011 Cruze’s official site, GM says, “Cruze boasts ample interior space, surprising cargo capacity and comfortable seating for five. With exacting safety standards and quality build, Cruze delivers on Chevy’s promise to offer a smartly designed compact at an exceptional value.”