Holden Cruze and Captiva to merge?

A highly versatile new General Motors platform could allow Holden to build both the Cruze small car and Captiva SUV at its Elizabeth plant in South Australia.

According to a report in the US trade paper Automotive News, GM plans to replace its Delta II and Theta architectures and merge them into one new structure internally codenamed D2XX.

GM’s small cars including the locally built Cruze are based on Delta II, while Theta underpins the company’s compact SUV line-up, including the popular Captiva which is currently imported into Australia from Korea.

D2XX could underpin nearly 2.5 million GM compact cars and crossovers by 2018, Automotive News reports.

Architecture strategy is at the heart of profitable modern automotive manufacturing. The more cars built off the same core set of componentry (think of it like a skateboard) the better.

D2XX could provide Holden with the opportunity to not only build the next-generation Cruze sedan and hatch in Australia, but add other derivatives (Automotive News moots a coupe as part of the next Cruze range) and also produce a locally built SUV for the booming compact market.

News of D2XX has bubbled to the surface in the wake of GM’s announcement of a refurbishment of its Lordstown plant in Ohio, where the Cruze is built for North America. The second-generation Cruze is due to start rolling off the line there in 2014.

In a statement GM promised the new Cruze would feature “new exterior and interior styling, improved fuel economy and an improved interior compartment and more storage space.”

Holden will start building the second-generation Cruze in 2016 at Elizabeth. A second global architecture is expected to come online at Elizabeth in 2018, ending production of the locally developed Commodore.

At the March announcement of a 10-year deal to continue building cars in Australia, GM Holden Managing Director and CEO Mike Devereux spoke of  building “two new Australian-made cars” on global architectures. Note the plural.

It has been motoring.com.au’s understanding that Holden had looked at and rejected building an SUV alongside the Cruze at Elizabeth. But that may have been before it knew the platforms were merging. Alternately, it could have been because it did know Theta was coming to an end.

Whatever the detail, it appears likely Holden will have a highly flexible platform at its disposal, enabling it to delve into product niches previously inaccessible to it.

Motoring.com.au’s understanding is the favoured platform to replace Commodore and its Zeta architecture has been Epsilon II (or its successor), which is available in front and all-wheel drive, two wheelbases and is capable of taking a variety of engines and alternative drivetrains.

It underpins a significant number of cars including the mid-size Holden Malibu that arrives here next year and the Opel Insignia that has just arrived. And it’s not hard to see that a car such as the forthcoming Chevrolet Impala large car, due out in the USA in 2013, would be under consideration as a locally-built replacement for Commodore.

Confused? Don’t worry, there is only six more years of speculation to go before all is revealed.