Unlike North America, the Australian and Oceanic markets have their fair share of diesel cars. But one of them is not the Holden Commodore. And there are no plans for one, as the VF Series was simply not designed with diesel in mind. Having the ability to be the most powerful vehicle produced in Australia, on the other hand, is a different story.
“One of the restraints of diesel (in the Commodore) is that it has had to meet a strict set of criteria including a cost-benefit analysis, and the result of that has always been that the cost of doing diesel is always too big,” said Holden program engineering manager Andrew Holmes to GoAuto.
Keep that in mind at all times when asking yourself why there is or isn’t a diesel variant of a vehicle. But to fill the void of a diesel, Holden is offering a diesel engine in the recently-launched Malibu.
Comments
Hard to imagine it with a diesel
For all the longer it will be around on this platform it makes sense. With a new car not that far off the money would be better spent on it for the Euro market.
Without Diesel engines, those cars are quite limited in their international usability. Especially for a large car which is meant to be used for long distances over the whole year, and as business car via leasing companies.
Consider the facts: in Germany, 56% of all Mercedes S-Class registered as new cars — this year up to August — are Diesel powered, 77% of all E-Class; 85% of all BMW 7-series, and 93% of all BMW 5-series cars; 69% of all Audi A8 and S8, 89% of all Audi A6, RS6 and A7; 84% of all A4, R4, and RS4.
To compete with the upper class, of the three German “premium” manufacturers, any car maker needs to have efficient, powerful and quited Diesel engines. At least for fleet sales, i.e. for people who drive a lot of kilometers per year.
GM has ignored this necessity by far too long.