HSV defends Chevrolet Camaro price

HSV makes no apologies for charging about $20,000 more for the Chevrolet Camaro than its most direct competitor, the Ford Mustang.

And it predicts the Camaro will be able to claim 1000 sales per year in Australia once its supply chain challenges are sorted out.

That target is far more modest than Mustang, which is Australia’s dominant sports car, finding more than 9000 homes in 2017.

The Camaro is now being rolled out to HSV dealers nationwide from the company’s Clayton factory, where 550 examples of the sixth-generation MY18 V8 coupe are being ‘remanufactured’ (HSV says the process is more complex than simply ‘converting’) from left- to right-hand drive.

Up to 70 per cent of Camaro production has already been claimed by customers, HSV says.

HSV has spent more than $10 million dollars on the Camaro development program, which slots into the enormous hole left vacant by the end of local Commodore production.

Available in a single auto-only 2SS coupe specification, the Camaro retails for $85,990 plus on-road costs. That price is $19,731 more than the Mustang GT Fastback auto, or $23,000 more than the manual.

Read the new HSV Camaro 2SS 2019 Review

It also comes without some features you’d expect at this money, like embedded satellite-navigation and autonomous emergency braking.

“If we needed to hit $66,000, it [the Camaro right-hand drive program] would never have happened,” insisted Jackson.

“I understand absolutely. It’s the natural comparison -- Camaro and Mustang -- but if you look at the two-door sports coupe market at this level of performance, it stretches up to $170,000 and $180,000.

“In a world where Mustang didn’t exist everyone would be saying ‘this [Camaro] is great value’.”

But Jackson conceded the pricing of the Camaro was at the upper limit of where it could be pitched and be greeted positively by potential buyers.

“I think we felt if we were going to be $90,000 and above we would have had some real cause for going ‘how will this be received? This could be too much to be received at that level?’.

Jackson said the decision to green-light local right-hand drive Camaro remanufacture was made in March 2016 based on the amount of feedback from customers who wanted the car built, rather than desire to go after Mustang.

“There wasn’t a day that went by where someone didn’t ask ‘are you going to do it, are you going to do it?’ And naturally we took the opportunity of saying ‘OK if it looks like this and that what’s your comfort level?’ And we got lots of good feedback.

“Once we had been through the engineering work that gave us a far bit of comfort that we could do it a price point that would be acceptable to the marketplace.

“I think people understand it’s coming to market in a different way [to Mustang], but there’s been that much pent-up interest and demand and we are not trying to sell 7000 units per year -- it’s not the goal.

“We think once we are rolling about 1000 per annum will be the number,” he added.

That number won’t fill the hole left by the old HSV business model, which relied on 3000-plus sales per annum of models such as the ClubSport based on the locally-built V8 Commodore.

Read the new Chevrolet Camaro bu HSV 2018 Review 

Instead, Camaro is part of a diversification that also includes right-hand drive Silverado, the hyped-up Colorado-based SporstCat and production of RAM trucks under contract for American Special Vehicles.

“I think it [Camaro] gives us that anchor of where we have always been,” said Jackson. “I look at this car as in some ways as giving us permission to do a few other things.

“If you take us back three or four years, we were probably overly-conservative in not trying new things.

“Through a requirement to start trying new things I think this is the one our traditional customer base is most connected with.

“And so it’s not so much that we don’t see ourselves being in the performance car space – absolutely we do – but we do see ourselves being able to do other things.”

The HSV Chevy Camaro comes with a 339kW/617Nm 6.2-litre Generation V LT1 V8 engine with direct injection and variable valve timing, mated to an eight-speed auto with paddle shifters.

There is no acceleration claim being officially made, but 4.5sec 0-100km/h and 12.8sec 0-400m have been seen in testing.

With the aid of cylinder-disabling Active Fuel Management, the official consumption claim is a thirsty 11.5 L/100km, equating to CO2 emissions of 260g/km.

Other important aspects of the mechanical package include Brembo four-piston brakes front and rear, a limited-slip diff and bi-modal exhaust.

Front and rear suspension (MacPherson strut and multi-link rear with twin-tube dampers) is passive, while a Drive Mode Selector can vary throttle, steering, auto shift, sound and stability control tune. Tyres are staggered 20-inch Goodyear Eagle run-flats. Yep, no spare tyre.

The car is underpinned by General Motors’ compact rear-wheel drive Alpha architecture, which is shared with Cadillac.

We’ve already published full equipment details, but key highlights include seven airbags, leather trim, dual-zone climate control, nine-speaker Bose audio, a choice of 24 interior lighting colours, wireless phone charging, a 7.0-inch touch-screen and a powered sunroof.

The hefty price tag not only omits sat-nav but also a head-up display, which had been initially listed as equipment the car would have. Cost and time ruled them out.

Along with autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assist technology is missing, but that applies to all Camaros and not just the ones we’re getting in Australia.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, so at least you can get sat-nav that way.

As with HSV’s other remanufactured Chevrolet, the Silverado pick-up, the Camaro warranty is three years/100,000km (not five years/unlimited-km like all Holdens including the Colorado SportsCat by HSV) including three years of complementary roadside assistance.

Servicing is scheduled every 12,000km or nine months and there are no plans for a capped-priced servicing.