Commodore: green dollars for fuel savings

Commodore will get alloy panels and new green tech thanks to your tax dollars. As part of the Federal Government's New Car Plan for a Greener Future, it was announced today that Holden will receive $39.8 million in funding to ensure its future Commodore models will deliver better fuel saving and incorporate carbon emission reduction technologies.

Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, made the announcement today together with Holden Chairman and Managing Director, Mike Devereux, at Holden's Elizabeth plant in South Australia.

Devereux said such funding was critical if the Australian automotive industry was to continue competing on the world stage, and that without it, affordable new technologies and innovations simply could not be offered in locally-made cars like the Commodore.

"Holden continues to be one of the country's largest investors in research and development and in the future of automotive design, engineering and high-tech manufacturing in Australia," said Devereux.  

"The assistance from the Federal Government will enable Holden to bring Australian-made firsts in fuel-efficiency and weight saving to market and to secure local jobs in the broader automotive industry."

Holden is seeking to improve the environmental performance of its top-selling large car. In recent years "fuel saving technologies", such as Spark Ignition Direct Injection (SIDI) on V6 powered vehicles and Active Fuel Management on V8 models have been introduced. Moving forward it will seek to incorporate further technologies.

The new Commodore model, whose timing is yet to be finalised, will use aluminium body panels, Holden confirmed. With weight reductions and better aerodynamics, the changes will reduce fuel consumption by as much as seven per cent, the company claims.  

"The success of Holden's product development program, and co-funded programs like the new locally-made Cruze, shows new vehicles and technologies have to be affordable and return real-world savings for the environment and for Australian drivers," explained Devereux.

"Holden is also continuing to develop other low emission and alternative fuel solutions in our Ecoline portfolio including a dedicated LPG Commodore and E85 flex-fuel capability on the 3.6 litre SIDI V6 engine later this year."

It's the second grant Holden has received through the Green Car Innovation Fund in recent times, the local manufacturer awarded $149M over three years to bring its Cruze small car into local production, making it the firm's largest engineering and manufacturing program since VE Commodore.   

"The assistance through the Green Car Innovation Fund for these two important locally-made vehicles has been critical to the success of Holden and the Australian industry through a very challenging economic period," said Devereux.

"With a great product portfolio, including efficient, locally-made cars like Cruze and Commodore, we're confident about the future of Holden and the viability of our local automotive industry."

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