Bruce Newton•14 Jan 2014
NEWS
Holden will stick with Commodore badge
Name stays the same even if the next generation is imported and front-wheel driveThe next generation Holden large car will still be a called a Commodore, despite being imported and almost certainly front-wheel drive.
And it will definitely be badged a Holden and not Chevrolet, as some rumours have suggested in the wake of General Motors’ decision to close the Elizabeth manufacturing plant no later than late 2017.
That was the news delivered by GM consolidated international operations chief Stefan Jacoby, speaking to Australian media at the Detroit auto show today.
Jacoby was the GM executive who recommended the Elizabeth closure, the end of Commodore and Cruze production and the shutdown of the company’s engineering capability – a recommendation that was ratified on December 10 by the Holden board and GM global leadership team.
“Yes we are planning to produce the Commodore and there will be a Commodore out of the portfolio of General Motors for the Australian market,” Jacoby confirmed.
Jacoby said “it was too early to say” where the imported Commodore would be, but said the options were “from Europe, Korea, the USA ... we have a lot of options actually.”
He also said it was too early to say whether the car would have traditional rear-wheel drive or swap to front-wheel drive.
However, despite a lack of official confirmation from Holden or GM, motoring.com.au clearly understands the imported 2018 Commodore will definitely be based on a global front-wheel drive architecture.
A variety of vehicles based on the mid-size Epsilon front and all-wheel architecture have been proposed to form the basis of the next Commodore, including the Chevrolet Impala and more upmarket Buick Lacrosse.
Jacoby emphatically rejected rumours of a possible replacement of the Holden badge with GM’s global Chevrolet nameplate. In this he echoed former Holden MD and Chevrolet global boss Alan Batey.
“We never doubt, we never question Holden as a brand,” Jacoby said. “We would never consider it [changing to Chevrolet]. I have never taken this into consideration.
“I believe in brands and I believe that Holden is a very strong brand. There is no reason and there is no rationale and no argument to change this.
“It has never been in the agenda since I joined General Motors. I can’t say whether this has been discussed before me.”
Jacoby said the task had already started to regenerate Holden as an importer-only brand.
“Our objective is to define a strategy, to compose Holden products in Australia with the global portfolio General Motors has and compete in segments Australians do want to have and expect from Holden,” Jacoby said.
That process would involve examining potential product lines from GM in Europe, the US and Asia, he said. Currently, Holden mostly imports Chevrolet-based vehicles from Korea.
Jacoby expressed confidence Holden would survive the transition to importing without serious damage to its sales level. It currently ranks number two in the market.
“If you look at the numbers, Holden has lost half of its market share over the last 10 years,” Jacoby said. “It is [more] evidence that if you focus on local production you are not truly globally competitive.
“I think we will at least stabilise our market share if not grow our market share.
“We have made a very clear commitment to stay with Holden in Australia. Our business model is different, but we are committed to Australia.
“There will be a certain transition period and I think we are very much aware of this. But in the long run we are in Australia to grow and play a further significant role in Australia.”
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Written byBruce Newton
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