Holden's cheapest model upgraded

A facelifted version of Holden's smallest model, the slow-selling Barina Spark city-car, has been revealed in North America, but Holden says it has no intention of announcing the upgraded model for Australia -- yet.

Due in US Chevrolet showrooms later this year, the revised Spark features a new front bumper with deeper Chevy grille and redesigned foglight bezels, as well as the addition of Hill Start Assist and an unspecified increase in engine performance.

"Packing extra horsepower under the hood with modifications to the engine displacement and enhancements to the ride and handling, giving the Spark more power and better handling at higher speeds," said Chevrolet of that Spark that will debut in the US in a few months.

"We listened to what young people said they wanted in a car," said Chevrolet Global Marketing Vice-President, Chris Perry. "Our engineers tuned and equipped the Chevrolet Spark specifically for first-time buyers and city dwellers in North America. Spark is the perfect urban car because we've made it easy to drive, easy to park and easy to own."

As we've reported, Holden will soon make available an automatic version of the manual-only Barina Spark in Australia in a bid to lift sagging sales, but GM Holden Senior Product Communications Manager Kate Lonsdale said there are no plans to introduce the facelifted Spark here.

"We're always looking to evolve our products and Spark is certainly no exception, but we have not made any announcements regarding specific model updates to the Barina Spark as yet," she said.

Launched here in October 2010 and based on the previous Barina platform, the Korean-built Spark five-door has attracted 743 buyers to May this year -- down 63 per cent on the same period last year.

The Spark was originally launched here with a starting price of $12,490 plus on-road costs for the entry-level CD variant, with a flagship CDX version -- also powered by a 59kW/107Nm 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol engine matched only with a five-speed manual transmission -- available for $14,490 plus ORCs.

Currently sold in 100 markets globally, the Spark CD manual is now available for $13,990 drive-away.

GM Holden Chairman and Managing Director Mike Devereux told motoring.com.au at last month's Colorado launch that an automatic version of the pint-size Spark would lift sales soon.

"We've got to have one and we will have one," he said. "This car is going to be part of our line-up for a long time so we need to get it right. It's a great entry point to the range."

Mr Devereux conceded the lack of an automatic transmission for a vehicle aimed primarily at young females was an oversight.

"No, it hasn't been a runaway success and that's because we really hampered ourselves," he said. "We didn't really figure that the young females who buy in that segment almost exclusively want auto, but we get that now."

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