SPY PICS: New Cruze caught undisguised

All the signs are pointing to Cruze and Astra selling alongside each other in Holden showrooms around Australia after GM's Adelaide manufacturing plant closes its doors in two and a half years.

The Astra is likely to be the hatchback in Holden's small-car range, and the Cruze will be the sedan, which makes these photos of an undisguised Chevrolet Cruze all the more interesting. Our spy photographers stumbled across the Cruze while it was involved in an official photo shoot in California.

This car is the North American version of the all-new model that made its debut in China around this time last year and is not to be confused with the mildly facelifted (sedan and Australian-designed hatch) models that Holden is adamant will remain in production here right through to the plant closure at Elizabeth in late 2017.

That means it's unlikely we'll see either the new Cruze sedan or Astra hatch – both of which are based on GM's new D2XX small-car platform – take on the top-selling Toyota Corolla and Mazda3 here until 2018.

Based on Holden's recent decision to drop the 1.4-litre turbo-petrol and 2.0-litre diesel from the Cruze range, expect a pared-back engine range in the second-generation model. Talk around the traps suggests the fully imported Cruze will offer a 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder and a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine, plus a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.