Holden turns to SUVs

SUVs are shaping up to be the most important avenue of sales growth for GM Holden as it prepares to retire the homegrown Commodore and transition from manufacturer to full-line importer next year.

The Colorado ute is likely to take over as Holden's number one seller from 2018 once the locally-made Commodore is replaced, but the company is banking on a bevy of brand-new SUVs to lead the brand into the next decade.

GM Holden chairman and managing director, Mark Bernhard, said we can expect significant changes in the company's SUV portfolio and that it wouldn't be doom and gloom after the closure of its local manufacturing operations.

"As we move forward, we've got the ability to pick and choose the best products from the GM portfolio that we think suit this market," he told motoring.com.au.

New SUV architectures are beginning to filter into General Motors' global brands (Opel, Vauxhall, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC and of course Holden) and will form the basis for a modern range of SUVs with all the tech and luxury trimmings customers expect.

Currently Holden has just three SUVs in its range, and none are class-leading in terms of sales or excitement.

The compact Trax (from $23,990), the large and aging Captiva ($30,490) and the slow-selling ute-based Colorado 7 ($47,990), which will be renamed the Trailblazer from October, currently hold the SUV fort for GM-H.

Bernhard agreed there were shortcomings in Holden's SUV range and although he wouldn't confirm which new models Holden was eyeing, it's expected that at least four new SUVs will arrive by 2020.

They will be sourced from the USA and Europe to combat top-selling SUVs from Japanese and Korean brands in this country, such as the Mazda CX-5 and Hyundai Tucson, and will be required sooner rather than later now Captiva 5 sales have ceased in Australia.

Holden has introduced eight of the 24 new models it has promised to deliver by 2020 thus far, as it seeks to rejuvenate its vehicle portfolio – one of the oldest in Australia.

North America's new GMC Acadia, for example, is the most likely candidate to replace the aged Captiva 7 – Holden's answer to Toyota's popular Kluger large SUV.

Alternatively, Holden could source other GM C2XX platform-based vehicles like the next Buick Enclave or Chevrolet Traverse, both of which will be revealed soon.

The discontinued Captiva 5 mid-sizer, meantime, could be replaced by Chevrolet's new Equinox due on sale in the US in early 2017, or other new D2XX-based SUVs like the Buick Envision or GMC Terrain.

When quizzed over the Captiva's 10-year age, Bernhard conceded "…the Captiva is an old product," but argued the sales figures speak for themselves. The Captiva is the fourth best selling SUV in its segment behind the Subaru Outback, Kluger and Prado.

The current Captiva will soldier on until a replacement arrives, but Holden is not talking about local release timing yet.

"There is an all-new global Captiva replacement coming," confirmed Sean Poppitt, Holden's director of communications, before adding: "we won't get into details on timing".

He wouldn't be drawn on whether the Captiva name will continue either, but if Holden plans on improving the SUV's budget image, it may need to distance itself from the Captiva name.

Indeed, Holden's top brass is open to the idea of larger and more luxurious SUVs.

"There is sales potential in the GM portfolio to go larger than that product [Captiva]. We need to work through that and determine if there's an opportunity in this market for that type of product," said Bernhard.

"We look at what current volumes are but also where we see projections of those segments going, and whether customers want those types of products," he added.

Although it's unlikely we'll see a giant Chevrolet Suburban wearing a Holden badge, it's clear the Holden product planners are plotting an SUV renaissance.

The spotlight on SUVs has the potential to rebuild Holden's Australian market share towards the end of the decade as the Aussie-built Commodore is put out to pasture.