Holden expects no customer backlash

GM Holden insists the closure of its factories in Australia in 2017 will not result in a backlash from buyers.

Sales of the Ford Falcon and Territory have continued to slide since the Blue Oval announced in May that it would cease local manufacturing of both models by October 2016, and the brand's total sales so far this year are down by 2.9 per cent -- a drop of 2436 sales -- in a total market up 2.2 per cent.

Falcon sales have dipped to 9386 units from 12,925 sales the year before, representing a 27.4 per cent drop, but Holden is confident its relatively fresh VF Commodore -- launched in May -- will help it maintain momentum.

Commodore sales continue to show encouraging signs. It was the fifth best-selling car in November 2013, but at 25,218 units remains 11 per cent down year-to-date.

Talking to 774 ABC radio in Melbourne today, GM Holden managing director Mike Devereux said he believed Holden and especially Commodore sales would thrive, despite the vehicle being on death row.

"I think what we've done over the last six or seven months is proven that not only can locally made and engineered cars survive, but they can thrive. The VF Commodore in October was the third best-selling car in the country," said Devereux.

Asked by ABC radio host Jon Faine if he thought buyers would desert the brand, Devereux said "I hope not".

Holden is expected to continue spending heavily on promoting its products across all types of media in 2014 and beyond, and Devereux says several Holden products have bucked the national trend.

"No I don’t [think there will be a backlash],” he said. “We will aggressively market our world-class product, both Cruze, Commodore and brand-new Trax small SUV. Our sales are actually defying the market over the last 60 days. The market is down, Holden sales are up," he said.

It remains to be seen if consumer confidence in the company will continue as it has done in the past few months, or whether it will begin to see a sales slide as experienced by the Falcon and Territory.

Holden had been under intense pressure this week to reveal its future strategy for local manufacturing, particularly from the federal government, as Treasurer Joe Hockey and acting Prime Minister Warren Truss demanded the car-maker make its intentions known.

At just after 2.00pm yesterday (November 11), Devereux confirmed the closure of General Motors’ car-making operations in Australia, citing a "perfect storm" of negative factors.

"I sincerely hope Australians understand what's going on here," Devereux said, before insisting that Holden's fate would not follow that of Mitsubishi's, whose sales nose-dived immediately after it stopped building locally made Magna large cars in 2008.

"This is a totally different scenario here. We have a world-class product in the VF Commodore -- we just launched it in the US [as the Chevrolet SS]. The American media are raving about what is the one of the finest products to come out of Australia," said Devereux.

Holden coverage on motoring.com.au