Holden Spark caught: on sale after AIMS
Australia will get Holden's all-new light-car contender in the third quarter of this year -- but it's already on the streetHolden's sub-Barina micro-hatch, the five-door Spark, is scheduled to go on sale locally in the weeks following this year's Australian International Motor Show (AIMS) in Sydney. But an eagle-eyed Carsales Network visitor has already spotted one on the road in Melbourne.
The Holden-badged Spark -- in its signature green 'hero' paintwork -- was captured in Spencer St in Melbourne by Stefan Colosimo. The pic is blurry but the identity of the car is clear.
Already on sale in European markets since earlier this year with Chevrolet badges, the car is expected to come with the larger of the two engines available – a 1.2-litre four-cylinder producing 60kW/111Nm, along with handy fuel consumption and CO2 emission figures. Official figures for the Chevrolet version quote fuel consumption at 5.1L/100km combined, with CO2 emissions of 119 g/km.
Although the Chevvy Spark is available elsewhere with an automatic transmission, it is expected the Holden version will initially come with just a five-speed manual gearbox.
Standard stability control, anti-lock brakes and six airbags have earned the Chevy Spark a four-star Euro NCAP safety rating and there's nothing to suggest it will score any differently with ANCAP when wearing its Holden badges.
The Holden Spark will be built at the GM DAT (formerly Daewoo) factory in Korea, and will be the second Korean-sourced car with high expectations for Holden following the launch of the Cruze sedan in 2009.
No pricing details will be forthcoming for some time, but it is expected the Spark will be aimed at a driveaway tag of around $15,000 to compete with other light-class contenders such as Hyundai i20, Nissan Micra, Proton S16 and Suzuki Alto.
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