Holden lands export deal for Brazil

Holden has revived its modest export deal to Brazil, with the first shipment of special edition Commodores to be named after Brazilian motor racing legend Emmerson Fittipaldi.

The initial order of 600 Holden Omega V6 sedans – due to be shipped in October – is tiny compared to Holden's other export deals to the Middle East and North America, both of which respectively accounted for between 20,000 and 30,000 sales annually at their peak a few years ago.

But the first 600 Commodores to Brazil are likely to sell out within three months and lead to about 1800 sales a year, Gustavo Colossi, the director of marketing for Chevrolet in Brazil, said at a press conference at Holden head office in Melbourne this morning (Tuesday 31 August, 2010).

"We are very pleased to see the return of Omega to Brazil," he told the Carsales Network. "In Brazil the Omega is a luxury car, driven by our National President, President Lula, and the heads of corporations. It is priced against the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and BMW 3 Series."

The new Commodore will be called the Chevrolet Omega Fittipaldi edition, a tribute to the Chevrolet brand ambassador in Brazil who is a two times Formula One champion, IndyCar champion and Indy 500 winner.

Fittipaldi was on-hand to make the announcement in Melbourne and spent the day before the press conference testing the new Commodore at Holden's proving ground.

"I'm amazed at the car culture that exists in Australia, plus you have world-class drivers everywhere around the globe," he said. "This is a great car and a good fit for Brazil and I'm proud to have my name on it."

The Brazilian Chevrolet Omega is different to the Omega sold locally. It gets a more upmarket interior, the tail-lights from the Calais V, and a 3.6-litre V6 instead of a 3.0-litre V6.

Colossi said that although the initial export order was relatively small, the future was bright for the Commodore in Brazil, a country which is predicting 7 per cent economic growth annually over the next few years.

"If the economy continues to grow at the predicted rate, and as our middle classes grow, we expect to sell more [large sedans]," he said. "The Omega is the only car in the luxury class in Brazil [that can run on ethananol blended fuel, E25]. This is a big advantage."

Commodores going to Brazil will initially only run on E25 but will be E85 capable next year when the 3.6 V6 is also developed to run on E85 in Australia.

Colossi said Brazil plans to become the world's third biggest new-car market before the end of the decade, which would also bode well for the Commodore.

"Brazil currently is a market of 3.3 million cars a year, the fourth biggest in the world, and Chevrolet has 20 per cent of that market," he said. "Brazil wants to be the third biggest market in the world within the next five to seven years, if the economy continues to grow."

Holden had been exporting the Commodore as an E25 model to Brazil since 1998, but the export program was suspended 18 months ago because sales dropped dramatically during the Global Financial Crisis.

"Before the Global Financial Crisis we sold 120 to 150 cars per month," Colossi said. "But after the Global Financial Crisis it dropped to 50 per month. Our stretch target for the new model is 2000 cars a year, which is more than 150 per month."

The boss of Holden, Mike Devereux, said there was potential to export other versions of the locally made Holden, such as the V8 SS and long wheelbase Caprice, but it would not export left-hand drive versions of the new Cruze small car.

"The potential is there for other versions [of VE or WM models], but we want to get Commodore re-established first," he said.

Devereux admitted the Brazilian export deal was modest compared to Holden's plan to export the Caprice as a police car to North America (see story, click here), "but every sale counts".

"We need to be viable based on what we build and sell here, and that's the same for every division in the General Motors world," he told the Carsales Network. "Any export deal is a bonus."

He said the switch to make the Commodore Series II able to run on E85 ethanol-blended fuel was driven by Australian marketing needs, not the Brazilian export program. "It was a good fit, a happy co-incidence."

The first Chevrolet Omega Series II will go on sale in Brazil in December after its local debut at the Sao Paulo motor show at the end of October.

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