Volt will be a Holden, but not with green dollars

Holden's Managing Director, Mark Reuss has pledged GM's electric car the Volt will wear a Holden badge when it arrives Down Under, but not at the expense of local taxpayers.

Announced as a "definite" for Australia by 2012, at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney in October (more here), it was anticipated by most that the Volt would wear Chevrolet badges. However, the lion brand's Chairman and CEO confirmed last night the Volt would be marketed not as a Chevrolet, but the local hero brand.

"If you remember in Sydney, we already had announced plans to introduce the Volt to Australia by 2012," Reuss began.

"There was a lot of speculation at that auto show what brand that car would be, and I'm here to tell you tonight it [Volt] is going to have the lion on the front of it and it's going to be a Holden Volt, that's very exciting for us," the obviously delighted exec stated.

Reuss' comments came at an end-of-year gathering of senior Holden execs and the local motoring media.

The Holden boss used the opportunity to deliver a 'state of the motoring union' address in which he praised the Australian government's commitment to the automotive sector and also commented on the woes of Holden's parent company General Motors.

Reuss also took the opportunity to pledge that his company would not access proposed Green Car Innovation Funds to bring existing GM fuel saving and green technology -- like wider E85 ethanol fuel compatibility and the Volt itself -- Down Under.

This is in contrast to Toyota, which has announced it will assemble a hybrid version of the Camry medium car, using a fully-imported drivetrain at its Altona (Vic) plant from 2012. It's strongly rumoured Toyota will use the Australia Government's proposed green car fund monies to help fund the hybrid program.

In a none too veiled swipe at the rival carmaker's plans, Reuss said Holden was "trying to do as much as we can on a global technology basis within GM, without accessing government funding for each and every one of those [technologies]."

"Philosophically we will be working with government on some of those [technologies] we want to invent in Australia and have Australia be the centre of expertise for that. Some of those [other technologies] we'll leverage from the global GM portfolio which we won't access anything [ie: government funds] in Australia to do it," Reuss told the Carsales Network.

"When we access that [green car] fund we have to have integrity... If we don't have integrity with that on the creation of the technology and the production of the technology in Australia, then we probably shouldn't be talking about it with the Government...

"I don't want to preclude what the criteria [for green car funding is]... But for me and Holden, which is what I can control and influence, I think the green car fund is created to help retool the industry here, for the [car]makers and the supply base, [to] create those technologies and produce them -- so that's the way we're running the company.

"For me that [approach] has integrity and for some one else that may not be the way they do that. For me no-one can question why we do that and the funds we would access to do that if we keep true to that philosophy," Reuss opined.

Reuss would not elaborate further on Holden's green tech plans but stated the company would roll out a range of technologies in 2009. He also stated it would "intensify" its efforts on bio-fuels".

To this end Reuss has committed to "having locally-built Holdens running E85 in the market by 2010". He also stated Holden is negotiating with bio-fuel producer and GM partner, Coskata, to establish the first local cellulosic ethanol facility in Australia. According to Reuss, the plant, which produces ethanol from waste products, will be Coskata's first outside the US.

In more general terms, in his address Reuss was fulsome in his praise for the Australian Government's commitment to the automotive sector in what he described as "once in a hundred year" conditions.

"The biggest thing for us this year has been decisions of the Federal Government which wants to have a car industry here. There really is a clear understanding from our Federal Government how important the [auto] industry is here and what it means for Australia --both from an economic standpoint but also from a historic standpoint.

"It's safe to say that Kevin Rudd and Kim Carr have really stepped up with strong, aggressive policy based on progress, rather than business as usual. They did this in an incredible environment where banks have collapsed and literally trillions of dollars have been released into the economy.

"Some have chosen to portray this as really a bail-out, which is a word I truly hate -- it shows laziness or deliberate ignorance on their part... [Under the Australian Government's plan] you don't get a cent if you don't build a car and you don't get a cent from the green car innovation fund unless we ante ourselves up as makers."

Commenting on the parent company's financial troubles Reuss called 2009 a year of transformation for Holden and "the reckoning of General Motors".

"I know there's been a lot of coverage here about the GM situation, all I can say is that right now that very clever people are preparing the case for Congress and understand the breadth of our plans and those that are submitted here over the last 24 hours.

"Actually, the discussion has become a little bit personal and a little bit silly from where I see it -- it's hard to say GM builds cars that people don't want to buy, when we sold more cars than any other company in the world, last year -- Toyota included.

"The US situation is much bigger right now than GM or even the car industry --particularly when you see the likes of Citigroup finding themselves in deep trouble.

"There's also a double standard that's been imparted here on the grant of access to credit, liquidity and money, quite frankly, from the US Government."

Bringing the focus back to the local arena, Reuss again referred to the Federal Government plans to help stabilize the local industry.

"Again, I'm heartened by the policy signs I see here in Australia. The government's committed to re-investing in our industry and that means that we'll get back into a positive position quicker than other parts of the world."

To comment on this article click here