Holden selects second model line

Holden appears certain to replace the iconic Commodore large car in local production with a compact SUV.

GM Holden Managing Director Mike Devereux confirmed at today’s media preview that a second model line had been selected to join the Cruze small car in local production in the second half of this decade.

“We know what that second vehicle line is right now,” Mr Devereux said.

While the new Cruze will be launched here in the second half of 2015, the second model line kicks off after the forthcoming 2014 VF Commodore finishes up in 2018.

While Mr Devereux would not confirm what that model line is, motoring.com.au sources insist it is a compact SUV.

Commodore has been the cornerstone of Holden’s local design, engineering and manufacturing business, since first launching in 1978.

Mr Devereux said he would not reveal the second model line because he wanted no distraction from the VF Commodore, which will be revealed around March and go on sale by mid-2013.

“We are not giving you any indications about that second model line because it would infer what the future is for Commodore, and that is something that is an interesting debate because we haven’t even launched our next Commodore,” Mr Devereux said.

“The second model just distracts people from what we should be focussed on, which is Commodore VF.”

The move from large car to SUV seems certain because sales of the former are dwindling and the latter booming, sales up 30 per cent year-on-year. Mr Devereux stipulated whatever Holden builds, both must be top 10 sellers to achieve profitable economies of scale.

“There is no room for error and they have to be top-selling vehicles,” he explained. “There are not that many brands that even could build cars in this country and survive because they have to have enough strength of brand to be able to have two of the top 10 vehicles in the country.”

General Motors is developing its new D2XX architecture to replace the Delta II platform that underpins the current locally built Cruze and the Theta platform used by the imported Captiva five- and seven-seat SUV.

Holden has committed to building models based on two global platforms out to 2022 in Australia. Derivations of D2XX suitable for Cruze and a compact SUV will be technically diverse enough under GM categorisation to be classed as different platforms.

Work commences in two months on the Elizabeth plant to reconfigure the assembly line for future models, while Holden design is already competing against other General Motors studios for interior and exterior design themes.

“Both of the vehicles we would be thinking of making here we’ve got people involved in sketch processes,” Mr Devereux said.

Mr Devereux said there were no export plans currently under development for any forthcoming vehicles, although he did not rule out potential opportunities depending on currency exchange rates.

“The business plan does not rely on exports today and will not rely on exports in the future,” he said.

Latest news from the 2012 Australian International Motor Show at www.motoring.com.au

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