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NEWS
Target buyers drive Holden Trax product planning
Factory is flat out building cars to meet the needs of Holden's 'pragmatic style seekers'Holden's new Trax SUV is coming to Australia in a carefully calculated model range that will deliver the GM brand the best possible bang for its buck.
There'll be no all-wheel drive models, for instance, diesel's practically ruled out too, and if we see a small turbo-petrol model at all, it will be a long way down the track – and probably priced above where it needs to be to compete with a turbo-petrol rival in the form of the Skoda Yeti.
During the Q&A session at the launch of the Trax last week, Holden's Director of planning and program management, Maria Koutsimpiris found herself explaining why we're getting a limited range of models, with just one engine and two transmissions.
Starting with the potential in this country for all-wheel drive, Ms Koutsimpiris explained that while the AWD Trax is available in other markets, that doesn't mean we'll see it here.
"There are, globally, all-wheel drives available," she replied to the question from the floor.
"We've chosen to go with the front-wheel drive strategy for our market here in Australia. Unlike some of the other markets we don't have massive urban areas in snowbelts and so forth. And certainly the additional traction is very helpful when you're dealing with wintry conditions across various markets – particularly in Europe and North America.
"This is very much an urban SUV for us in this market, so we've stuck with front-wheel drive only and loaded it up with features the [target] demographic will find more useful."
An all-wheel drive Trax – with the same 1.8-litre engine specified for Australia – is only sold in left-hand drive form, in Argentina. If Holden could have built a case for an AWD Trax in RHD, the company would have done so, but all-wheel drive adds weight and cost, without improving fuel economy or performance. It's simply not what the 'style conscious, value-focused' typical Trax buyers want.
Questioned further about all-wheel drive models for Australia, Ms Koutsimpiris delved into the car's development history here, and how the market has changed since that work began.
"When we did first look at this... when we first started working on it, several years ago, the trend was all around all-wheel drive, and the trend for two-wheel drive SUVs was only just starting.
"We've really pushed that, because we thought the market was moving that way. We also don't have any kind of weird barriers in terms of tariffs... which kind of require all-wheel drive, so we really pushed to get that into the program...up front in the program because it was important for us."
Diesel derivatives of the Trax are looking like a remote prospect for Australia also. It's about the car's bargain-basement price and the effect on that a premium engine would have.
"We'll continue to look at what powertrain offerings we have as the segment grows," Ms Koutsimpiris responded when asked about diesel-powered Trax, but she subsequently explained why it's not a serious consideration.
"Diesels in this market, with the diesel pricing where it is today, [and] the premium that diesels are over petrol engines, the equation really doesn't work on a low-$20,000 car."
That logic also explains why a small-displacement turbo-petrol engine is a long shot. The challenge is finding the capacity to supply, with the plant already at maximum output. There's a 1.4-litre turbo version of the Trax, and a 1.6, but the latter engine is not turbocharged and is only sold in Europe, with manual transmission and auto-stop/start – specifically to meet local fuel economy objectives.
The 1.4-litre turbo, which was available in the locally-built Cruze up until the introduction of that car's MY14 series, is expensive to bring to Australia and – based on the Cruze example – would provide precious little added performance, if any.
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Written byKen Gratton
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