Reports Indicate New Crossover To Replace Holden Commodore In Adelaide Plant By 2018
3
Sponsored Links
Worrisome reports in Australia indicates that beyond the year 2018, the Holden Commodore will no longer be assembled at the Elizabeth plant just outside of the city of Adelaide, South Australia and will be replaced by something far less exciting: a crossover SUV.
Moreover, Holden managing director Mike Devereux didn’t deny such a claim.
“We know what that second vehicle line is right now,” as he addressed journalists during the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney last week.
“We are not giving you any indications about that second model line because it would infer what the future is for Commodore, and that is something that is an interesting debate because we haven’t even launched our next Commodore… The second model just distracts people from what we should be focussed on, which is Commodore VF,” he continued.
The new VF Commodore is expected to launch next year in Australia, along with the Chevrolet SS sedan here in the ‘States.
As for the crossover that’s rumored to replace the VF in the Elizabeth facility, it’s reportedly going to utilize GM’s next-generation compact architecture code-named D2XX, which will underpin the next-generation Chevrolet/Holden Cruze as well.
“I have been on the record to say we would be pretty stupid not to build a small car given how big that segment is, so we will be building the global Delta next-gen product line (Cruze),” Devereux continued. He also ruled out building the Malibu in Australia, so that eliminates the mid-sized sedan as one possibility. Devereux probably said more than GM CEO Dan Akerson would have liked, especially considering how far ahead these changes are planned on being implemented. However, the beloved Commodore isn’t in a segment that’s growing right now, but crossover SUVs definitely are, and it’s a market Holden needs to pursue. And if that’s what it’s going to take to keep the lights on in the Elizabeth plant, then that’s what Holden is going to do. However, we hope this doesn’t spell the end for the coveted Australian sedan.
- Sweepstakes Of The Month: Win a 2023 Corvette Z06 Convertible. Details here.
Sponsored Links
This seems to be confirming the rumor that Holden (and upcoming Chevrolet) rwd sedans might be moving to a lighter/stretched Alpha platform (Buick may just be in the mix as well).
Reference – http://gmauthority.com/blog/2012/09/zeta-based-holden-commodore-expected-to-adopt-new-architecture-beyond-2017/
Sadly, it no longer makes financial sense for Holden to build a large sedan of its own design in Australia and it’s getting to the point where it might not make sense to build a large sedan of global design here either. Although I note that ruling our Malibu production still leaves the door open for Impala.
I do wonder, though, whether a D2XX-based crossover would sell in the volumes required to stay in the Top 10 selling cars in Australia (which would be about 2-3000 per month). The bigger selling SUVs in Australia tend to be towards the large end of the scale, which a Cruze-based SUV would not.
I really hope the Commodore doesn’t get axed (like the Falcon is gonna be).