AIMS: Holden hatches Cruze showcar

Holden has taken the covers off its highly-anticipated Cruze hatch, unveiling a pumped-up showcar at this year's Australian International Motor Show (AIMS) in Melbourne.

Though the car made its international debut in Paris last year, this is the first official local showing of the five-door hatch that is already rolling down the production at Holden's Elizabeth facility in South Australia.

Crafted by the team at Holden's Port Melbourne design studio, Cruze hatch will join the successful Cruze Series II sedan in dealer showrooms later this year, a move Holden chairman Mike Devereux says will further bolster Holden's strong small car sales position.

"Cruze has been a stand-out success, from the moment it launched it quickly became one of the country's favourite nameplates," he said.

"We achieved this sales success with only one body style, so we're looking forward to adding this great looking hatch to the range and seeing Cruze go from strength to strength. We think the hatch will hit a sweet spot with buyers looking for great design, versatility and practicality.

The hatch was designed in Melbourne by a design team headed by Holden's Martin Love (pictured).

"We're very proud of the finished product, our contribution to the global design program and that our Cruze hatch will be rolling off the Elizabeth assembly line and into dealerships later this year," Devereux continued.

"Importantly, Cruze hatch represents yet another step in the Holden product renaissance, which is giving people more and more reasons to consider the lion badge."

In the metal Cruze hatch looks more cohesive than some might expect. A coupe-like DLO (day light or window opening), sweeping roofline and rising shoulder line give it familial links to the sedan, but overall the car has a more sporting flavour.

The hatch stands out for its wide stance and short front and rear overhangs, elements designer Love says are key to attracting the interest of the broad range of customers.

"The customer base for a compact hatch is perhaps the most diverse... A vehicle in this segment needs to appeal to families through to empty nesters, as well as young, urban professionals," Love stated.

"When we designed the hatch, we needed it to be eye-catching and youthful yet sophisticated, and still provide practicality, features and comfort families need. We wanted to do something sporty and dynamic that would stand out against conventional hatchbacks and we're really proud of the result."

Holden's theme for AIMS is 'Local Heroes' -- a term it's directing to its design and engineering teams as much as its cars. Though local boss Mike Devereux has been talking pointedly to government about the importance of "co-investment" to secure Holden's future Down Under, he says the show theme has been in development longer "than the current news cycle".

"Zero connection [to the recent changes in government funding arrangements]," Devereux stated.

"We always had a plan because of the timing of these launches and because of our ionvolvment [in the models] it made sense to showcase the people. I think most people, most laymen, like to hear the stories [behind our cars]..."

Full specifications, pricing and features of the new Cruze hatch will be announced closer to the car's launch in Q4 of this year.

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