Holden To Re-Tool Elizabeth Plant For All-New Commodore
22
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Holden has announced it will go ahead with plans to re-tool its South Australian factory in Elizabeth in preparation for the 2016 Commodore even though they have yet to receive further funding from the Federal Government, according to a report from local media.
The Herald Sun said the announcement contradicts Australian Federal Government insiders who claimed last week that General Motors executives had already made the decision to shut the Holden factory down.
Holden has been pushing for increased taxpayer support from the Australian government in order to produce two new models from 2016 to 2022, including the next generation Commodore. The automaker is awaiting a decision on the plants funding from the Federal Cabinet – expected sometime in late April or early May.
Workers at the plant will receive a 3 percent pay rise next week and a scheduled $1000 bonus next month, as the three-year wage freeze deal they signed in September only comes into effect if Holden signs a new agreement with the Feds.
Holden is spending $250,000 on upgrades to the plants body shop during the scheduled summer shutdown months of December and January. An insider told HS they are doing this to avoid a a shutdown at a later date if a deal were to go through, as it would involve shutting the factory down for an extended period of time.
When the next-gen Commodore does reach production, the expectation is that the vehicle will adopt a more global front-wheel-drive architecture over a RWD platform.
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I may be the contrarian here, but I just don’t see why Commodore can’t continue on Alpha. If I were Holden, I’d be playing the expectations game to make people think Epsilon, and then woo everyone with Alpha.
If Alpha can scale up to boats like CTS, and ride on low-cost high-profit platforms like ATS, I fail to see why Holden can’t make it work for Commodore.
Who is “expecting” that a 2016 Commodore would “adopt a more global front-wheel-drive architecture over a RWD platform”? And how is this expectation expressed except in this article by Sam McEachern?
There have been several reports claiming this, mostly from Australian news outlets, look it up.
While the Commodore may go FWD I do not expect that RWD is dead in Australia or for the new SS.
Some how I wonder if there will be a new Alpha based car and this time it will be exported from here to down under.
The SS would not be on the market if it were a 2 year car only and we are also expecting a new Alpha Camaro in and about the same time. What or who is to day we may not also be getting a Chevy 4 door sedan that may this time be shared with Holden.
Hell they already ship the driveline down under why not a whole car. Holden is already mostly rebadged Chevys anymore.
I see this as a case of lets wait for the rest of the story to come out. We also have the new Omega platform to come yet too. It may be near the size of the present Zeta.
How can I look up sources which you don’t indicate?
It’s called Google. It’s a cool new search engine where you type in queries and find relevant results based on key words in your search topic.
But to be more to the point – Holden has very much said that they are working on more sporty FWD applications, and has stated officially that they are evaluating FWD for Commodore. However, nobody from Holden has said on-record that the next Commodore will be FWD.
Personally, I’d put my HSV FWD efforts into Cruze, and make an export friendly Cruze SS-V.
Much as CTS and Commodore have aped each other since the VE design phase, I would say just take the all-new Alpha CTS, and scrap all the expensive trim bits… make the seats less plush, and remove some of the noise deadening. Done. Commodore VG RWD. Bean counters happy, rubber burners happy.
Well it was in a Austrailian article last year with a Holden official that the new Commodore was well under way and the latest version was not going to be around long.
With this known that also means the Chevy SS will not live long on the Zeta. I am sure if you google this you can find the story again.
As for the replacement you just have to put known facts with a little common sense.
#1 Alpha is coming for the Camaro. If Chevy is investing into a 4 door sedan as their flag ship sedan in NASCAR do you really think they will not continue it after the Zeta Dies? Not likely.
Second the Camaro will share the line with the Cadillac’s in Michigan. Adding a Sedan based on the items used in the Alpha Camaro would be easy as that pretty much is how the Zeta is used today.
Third I expect with the sales of the Holden as strong as they are with the RWD it will remain REW. They already have a Cruze and Malibu. The Alpha was going to Holden long ago as we have already had seen show cars based on the early chassis in the Torana.
Fourth the loss of the Ute is part because the Colorado but also with the loss of the Zeta. The cost to put it on the Alpha would be high if the sales drop as they are.
Fifth where has anyone from GM stated that they would go FWD with the Commodore? There would be a big out cry from down under with the loss of this car in RWD.
So to be upfront here the first part of my statement is based on GM and what they have said. The rest is based on close watching of GM and what they are doing globally. To really know or have a clue at what GM is doing you have to watch platforms and other divisions in the shared global market. Holden and Chevy are joined at the hip now and we are not going to see too many differences other than some tuning and grilles. Both companies will cater and supply their specialties to help each other just as Buick and Opel are now doing.
The bottom line is Chevy is not giving up on RWD coupes and sedans so there is little reason to think Holden with strong rwd sedan sales will do the same.
These puzzles all come together with time and GM speak. Sometimes what they don’t say speaks the loudest as actions speak louder.
Alpha would be too expensive an architecture for a Commodore. Also, why would GM spend $100’s of Millions to tool up another Alpha plant in a remote location for a volume of less than 50K/year?
The stark reality is that you can not operate a manufacturing facility profitably under 100k units/year without financial support. Why do you think Ford lost $600M in the past decade at Broadmeadows? When was the last time they built over 100K there?
IMO it would be idiotic to replace the Commodore (Chevy SS, Pontiac G8) with a front wheel drive car. They might as well just build the Malibu instead.
Why would Alpha be too expensive? It’s already in production, so costs should be coming down for it, especially if it’s going to be a Camaro.
The Alpha leveraged out will reduce the cost. If they can build the 6th gen Camaro on it they can build the SS and Commodore on it. Like I said the signs are all around and you just have to pay attention.
As for Ford you also have to consider they really did not share the Falcon platform with any other car globally and that drives the cost off the charts where as GM has shared the Zeta and spread the cost out. Same more so for the Alpha.
About the only thing shared between the VE Commodore and the Camaro is the name Zeta. Trust me, I know.
Alpha is a premium architecture as in premium engineering solutions, premium materials and premium cost. Another 30K to 40K in Aussie volume on top of the North American volumes will not bring costs down dramatically, especially once you consider shipping costs to Oz.
If Alpha is so expensive, why in the world would GM want to use Alpha on the Camaro? Camaro’s have to be cheap for GM to turn a profit.
And if volume is the issue, fine. Follow Ford’s lead and have Holden unify Commodore and Impala’s design on Alpha and sell Commdore’s domestically and Impala’s internationally. The increase in cost-per-unit going from Epsilon to Alpha, will be greatly eclipsed in the sales spike globally.
One thing to consider is this too.
Chevy and Holden are basically one now. Holden has two Zeta cars in the Caprice and Commodore. I can see the Caprice being replaced by the Impala in the Holden line up and the Commodore being replaced with a RWD Alpha based sedan also shared with Chevy. As for the Camaro I look for it to arrive after we see it here down under since it will be a global package in the 6th gen. There even has been debate if the Camaro would be sold as a Holden or Chevy there.
If the cost have been held for a Camaro they can be held to the same price range as the Holden and Chevy SS.
When “Chevy and Holden are basically one now”, the interesting part in that phrase is the word “now”.
Would GM really be content to be present this market with only their volume brand, i.e. the cheapo side of it, and not offer the upmarket Buick/Opel/Vauxhall line in this market, which has the highest density of automobiles per persons (about 550 to 560 per 1000 people) of this planet? And at the same time keep the Chevrolet name plate out of it?
I would not be surprised to see soon a Holden Adam and Holden Cascada, perhaps also a Holden Meriva and Holden Zafira…
@JD I understand that Alpha can be a premium architecture for Cadillac, but it must be able to scale some for Camaro? An entry level Camaro can’t come in at $40k and be successful. Had GM kept Pontiac, they would have been successful with the G8. Look at the current prices of G8’s, especially with a $45 Chevy SS model coming out.
There may be a Opel/Buick line some day but the key now it to get Holden in position to fight the incoming Asian cars that are taking over.
Also while you look at the density of Autos per person keep in mind the volume numbers for the market. The Australian market is like selling cars in California volume wise. If you look at the list of top 10 sellers for the yearly sales it is shocking at the small numbers compared to other markets. They are still important sales but how much volume is there for a upscale car that still has to build a segment in the market.
Also is there enough demand to justify the cost of import or enough volume to add production in country.
While having Opel or Buick there is a great idea just how economically feasible is it.
It is considered by some that the next Commodore will be FWD however this has never been confirmed by Holden. Most of the auto media here are saying that but the mainstream news are jumping to the conclusion that it will be FWD, same as how they are jumping to the conclusion that the Ute will be killed off.
Matt – GM Authority’s Australian correspondent
@Scott:
The Holden lineup is part of “the incoming Asian cars” – all the “small cars” come from Daewoo, the Korean Chevrolet.
The only Holden cars which are not part of “the incoming Asian cars” are the Commodore and Caprice (including they body variants).
When in 2002, Holden took 42% of GMDAT’s (*) capital on behalf of GM, and formed Daewoo Australia distribution company as a wholly owned subsidiary, the then Holden CEO Peter Hanenberger asserted that they would keep Daewoo as a separate brand on the side of Holden.
When in 2004, GM decided to rename “the incoming Asian cars” of Daewoo to Chevrolets, Holden closed the Daewoo distribution company and converted itself basically into the Australian version of Daewoo. Keeping only the “large cars” Commodore and Caprice as their own development.
So, Holden had already been “taken over” by ” the incoming Asian cars that are taking over”.
———–
(*) GMDAT = GM Daewoo Automobile & Technology
No matter how you dice it they are still GM and they are using the Holden name and are seen as a home division.
With Todays global markets there are some things that creep into the gray area but it all comes back to the name and corporate owner.
My Point is Holden is still seen as a local brand and they are competing with Mazda and Hyundai that have really made inroads to Australia. I have not looked at this years sales but the Mazda 3 has been leading.
Same here even if Hyundai builds most of their cars here generally they are still not considered an American Company.
Holden has suffered from the lack of attention from GM over the years and they are just looking for ways to get them to where they have more relevant product in the changing Australian line up. GM could have also easily changed their name to Chevy too but the equity of the Home brand name is still very great.
In the end this is what I would expect.
I am taking a guess here but the Commodore goes to the Alpha and lives on in RWD. But Holden could get a FWD based Impala and just rename it the Caprice. I see a fit here and the Impala would make a good replacement for the Caprice slot. If not a replacement at least an addition to the entire line. I think the Impala would be a nice fit there if they can economically do it. That last part is the key.
Holden shares two cars with the Opel/Buick/Vauxhall line:
a) the Opel Antara, which goes by Holden Captiva 5 in Australia and New Zealand, and
b) the Buick-China Park Avenue which is more or less a rebadged Holden Caprice.
And I can’t imagine that a person like K.T. Neumann, who conditioned him taking the task of Opel CEO on getting a position in the international GM Executive Committee, and to be President, GM Europe, and got all the GM business in Russia under his management, would have given up the introduction of the Opel brand in Australia so easily, without having other, farther reaching ambitions.
And the Opel Australia note to the press about closing shop mentioned that they would talk with Holden about introducing some “niche products” in the Holden lineup. A proposition which made me think of a Holden Cascada and Holden Adam.
The Impala isn’t a suitable replacement for the Caprice. The Caprice’s sales come from the Silver Service Taxi’s, Government fleet sales and some business fleet sales. All private sales are made because it is an extension of the Commodore line and is RWD. Holden wouldn’t want the Impala either as they would rather scrap the Caprice and try and boost sales of the Commodore Calais-V. Ford have attempted to do this with the Falcon G6E when they killed off the Fairmont/Fairlane spin offs. Silver Service moved over to the G6E and continue to run them along side the Caprice but government now buy Caprices only. The Calais-V is much preferred by private buyers than the G6E.