HSV Eyes Performance-Focused Chevrolet Sub-Brand
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Since Holden first announced it would cease Australian manufacturing operations by 2017 in December, there has been talk that HSV would continue on developing and selling performance-focused General Motors products in Australia. But with access to their main vehicle, the Holden Commodore, soon to be cut off, HSV is looking to grow its relationship with GM, possibly by offering a performance sub-brand for Chevrolet.
Obviously, HSV hopes to offer V8, rear-wheel drive cars like the Commodore in Australia in the future and the only way to do this might be to offer Chevrolet’s as HSVs. If they were to do this, it would make sense to offer the vehicles in North America as “CSVs”, according to Walkinshaw Group chairman, Ryan Walkinshaw.
“We think something like that (CSV) could work,” Walkinshaw told Motoring.com.au in an interview. “It depends on what products are available. It’s going to depend on the discussions with GM going forward. There’s a lot of factors we have to take into account, but I think we are pretty confident in what we do.”
Helping Walkinshaw’s case will be the fact that three former Holden managing directors, Mark Reuss, Alan Batey and Mike Devereux, currently hold high-ranking management positions within GM and all understand and appreciate what HSV does.
“We have good relationships with all three guys, particularly Mike Devereux,” said Walkinshaw. “That’s a much bigger discussion that we need to have, but obviously that’s something we are setting our sights on going forward.”
HSV hopes to hold on to its headquarters and manufacturing base in Clayton, but Walkinshaw is open to moving the outfit overseas in order to be close to the plant where the company’s next core vehicle will be built, possibly, the next-generation Chevrolet Camaro.
“Ideally, it would be a nice simple transition to just get the cars off the ship part-finished and us to finish them off here,” said Walkinshaw. “It would also keep us as a company that genuinely makes Australian cars and makes them in Australia, which would be great. But if the opportunity arises and we have no other option then we are happy to look at manufacturing abroad and importing them as well.”
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Awful!!!
Hey GM, Pontiac-Holden | GXP-HSV. Then you’ll have a winner. Chevy already has SS, we can say it’s almost a sub-brand.
GM has to stop murdering great brands.
Bring Commodore production to the US, revive Pontiac and keep Holden-HSV in Australia.
Holden can sell other cars. Let the RWD with Pontiac-Holden.
Pontiac is dead gone and not coming back. I am a Pontiac lifer and have a first hand realistic acceptance of this fact. As for the Zeta is walking dead.
The new Alpha platform would be a great starting point for HSV to work their magic. As it stands they could do a lot more sales here with the new SS and Camaro on top of what other Holden and Vauxhall models they export.
What I would like to see done is GM take HSV and make them the in house tuner for Chevy and sell them direct through the dealers as it would give them an advantage over the other tuner cars like Callaway and Lingenfelter.
I would like to see HSV turn into something like Shelby has been to Ford.
GM could sell as many HSV Chevys in California alone as Holden sold globally. The room for growth here is great if done properly. These are not cheap cars so more reach would only strengthen them globally.
Performance vehicles, however they may appear on these shores, are welcomed. Let’s get to work HSV! Start with the Cruze and work your way up!
I say why stop at Chevy! Go across the board. Make HSV GM’s AMG, or BMW’s “M”, or Nissan’s Nismo.
Currently GM is on the ball with great performance vehicles. Whats missing is a true “in-house” representation of all things GM performance. Something that will make the average guy on the street understand that there is some type of focus and positive influence between all of the GM brands. Imagine any and all turbo,V6, V8, AWD, and RWD vehicles from GM having in-house options for performance AND visual upgrades that all scream GM yet cater to each brands strengths.
A big problem with GM is with the exception of Chevy, all of the other performance models GM offers are pretty much invisible to all except those in the enthusiast community. Which means GM follows the same tired scrip of spending lots of money on a really good alternative or “lower volume” performance vehicle, only to have it not even register with the market because it simply is overlooked or left to shrivel on the vine thanks to inept marketing of it’s parent brand.
HSV has shown they can do economic through luxury performance as well as market it in such a way that it becomes well respected if not out right iconic. GM would do well to seriously consider such an arrangement.
Well here is the issue. How much will a HSV model cost and how many do you have to sell to make a profit.
This needs to be balanced easy as some cars can cost more than some will be willing to pay. Right now cars like the Z/28 can get away with it as the mark up is so much they have room but other models would not have this advantage. HSV will pick and choose carefully and I expect will focus on the Camaro and SS along with their sister models that will go to export.
The presents in the American market will only help them as the volume will more than triple.
HSV E-Series 1 was sold in the middle east as the Chevrolet Lumina CSV (Chevrolet Special Vehicle)
Also, Holden announced GM would be closing Holden manufacturing. Sick of hearing/reading words that make it sound like Holden decided.
If HSV wants to be the performance arm of GM then go right ahead. However a previous comment above about them making the performance side of things for BMW, Nissan etc would never work. R&D on all the different manufacturers vehicles would be too great. Plus you’d have to contend with the likes of Nissan’s performance side Nismo, BMW M division, Mercedes has AMG, etc etc. Do I like the idea of HSV being the tuner for GM? Why not they have some pretty wicked cars there. I’d probabaly also be inline to buy their Ute if it were available here stateside because they have some radical ideas that we Americans just can’t seem to wrap our heads around. Do it already!!! Make it happen!!!
The initials “SV” have been used before. Ford has the “SVO” (Special Vehicle Operations).
Wish some Americans would realise what losing Holden and hsv means to Australian motoring enthusiasts, read our forums etc and you will see we will abandon gm by the thousands as of 2018. A Holden isn’t a Holden if it comes off a ship, I’m aware gm imports models here and the sales figures of those models are some of the lowest in their class. How would you feel if gm shut down all its American plants and your cars were made overseas? Holden will die a horrible death here in Australia after 2017 and sucked in to gm for corporate greed over a quality local product. I myself shall switch to buying Audi models once we get cheap Korean or Chinese crap badged as a Commodore.
David stop the pissing and moaning. We here in America know damn well what it is like to lose some of the car we loved like Pontiac and Oldsmobile.
The sad truth is the market down under is too small to support itself any longer. That is why every one is moving out and going to imports. GM could just as easy just kill the RWD car there but will supply you with an American built SS and a version of the Camaro there in the not too distant future.
Oh you can cry and say they will abandon Holden but the truth is just as many here said GM would lose market share without Pontiac when they increased it post Pontiac.
The rest of your Holden line up will not change and the loss of the Zeta will not hurt sales with the new American car. God knows you folks never had an issue with using our imported engines and transmission in your cars I suspect a lighter and even better performing sedan will do very well down under.
Also I have many friends and customer down under that are the opposite of you and are looking forward to being able to buy a Camaro or a new Alpha bases sedan.
I know It hurts for pride but in the end if the product is good and performs well people will buy it as in this case what else built down under do you have a choice of anymore once Toyota closes up.
As for your claim to buy an Audi is pretty hypocritical. Audi is a good car but the to compare it to a Holden is not the same thing. It is like me comparing a cheaper Chevy Cruze to a Audi A5 as they are two different cars in two different classes.
The reality is the cars built in any GM plant are all the same. They have the same standards to meet and will not be different no matter if they were built in Germany, the USA, China or Australia.
It is time people stop the BS and wake up that China can and is building many items as well as anyone else. To me it should be a wake up call to bring production back here when ever they can.
I hear oh that Rotor was made in china so it is cheap. Yes some are but most are not. I seldom hear anyone complain that their I phone or Samsung TV or phone is cheap but they too are from China. If they can get a I phone or Galaxy right I am sure they can do a Cruze right.
It is time for people and unions of the world to wake up and work to find ways to compete or they will lose what little they have left.
The reality is the Australian market will see a mix of GM global product that will be more expansive and diverse than it has been in years. You will not only gain the two Chevy models but a couple world class Cadillac’s as well as some Opel/Buick models that Holden just could never build or support them on their own.
I hate to see the lose of the industry and the jobs but in the end you will gain product you would never have been able to get on your own.
I am just glad GM was one of the last hold outs as at least they tired to stick it out.
Dear Scott,
1. Many of us felt our Australian 5 litre V8 could have been engineered to modern standards and kept for our cars but gm shut our engine manufacturing plants to import your engines.
2. Read and watch the reviews by your fellow countryman have made about our Aussie built SS, we are not lucky to have or unable to build the quality of imported models.
3. Chinese models and most Korean models here and around the world are lauded for price not build quality.
4. I do not ever have to quit my disappointment in gm choosing to sell us crap over a car built by and for Australians.
5. Reply properly and address the hypothetical properly as to what you would feel if there were NO MORE AMERICAN CARS EVER AND THEY WERE ALL FOREIGN BUILT.
6. A Holden Calais or statesman is quite comparable to an Audi except for price.
America didn’t lose American cars though. Sure Pontiac and Olds died but you still have Chevy, Caddy, Buick, GMC, Ford, Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and more. Here in Aus, we’re loosing all Australian cars except for Elfin who are a tiny little sports roadster manufacturer who are owned by the same owners as HSV. Did anyone really think GM would lose market share without Pontiac? Really? Pontiac was pointless just like Saturn. If Pontiacs were true performance cars and were an in-house tuning brand like HSV and much like they were originally, sure, they would be worth keeping and probably could be kept. Outside of the G8 and Solstice, Pontiac was pointless badge engineering in the end.
America WILL NOT deliver a car we want. The Commodore rivals and beats competitors that are priced as twice as much. How can the next generation SS beat that competition when it is going to be a watered down Cadillac. Unless we get the Cadillac or a Buick/GMC version as a Calais-V and for the price of approx. $46k like the current VF Calais-V – GM will show it has no clue how to operate here.
Holden could have continued easily – it just needed to have more own models and much more exports. Why give us the terrible Cruze and have Holden engineers spend valuable time fixing it for the MY2014 model? Why not let us develop our own small car using the platform and sharing Astra and Cruze components.? Sure it costs money but in the long run – would save millions of dollars that GM are now paying to stop production.
David and Matt I feel for you and to be honest I know what you feel as here we have lost much of our American production and many of the cars GM makes that I like are Canadian, Australian or like my present daily driver made in Mexico.
I lost Pontiac as I was a life long fan. But I also have a grasp of the real issues and understand clearly why it died. Yes it sucks but you can not always have it your way.
You have not just lost GM but you have lost every vehicle produced in Australia. It was a market in decline for the last 30 years, At it’s prime in the 70’s it was the 10th largest market in the world and much of it was home designed and built. But as time went on the imports from Asia came and diluted the waters.
There are many logical reasons for the death of your market. You could blame it on being a small market, High labor cost, over values currency, increased foreign sales etc. it does not make it less painful.
The reality is the global scale of making cars has changed for all of us. Our market is no where what it was 50 years ago and we could end up just as you are. If it were not for the bail out we would have lost it all with GM.
So do not think I have no idea of what it is like or what it is that you will be going through.
This is why I can say that while you will lose the home favor of you cars you will gain in other areas. While some things like production will end you will still have input in styling and will be factored in when product is planned for the global market. In other words your needs for cars will be met with more verity and more options than you have had before.
To be honest if you have never left the country you have missed out on some pretty special cars over the years. My friend down under are into American cars and they pay a heavy price to own them as they want what they could not get local.
They are not as rare as one may think either.
I would at least give GM credit as they held on as long as they could but the reality is companies are in business to make money and there is little to make if they do it there with product not shared anywhere else. Times have changed for all of us. Even the cars here in the states have to be shared anymore or we will not have them.
Most models anymore other than the Corvette and some Cadillac’s need to sell at least 100,000 units to be considered for production anymore. If they can not meet this they at least have to be shared with another brand in other markets or the platform has to be leveraged out.
GM could have kept Holden as it was and stated to make them charge for what it would have cost to remain independent but who there would pay the price as it would have been steep.
As for your market the public as a whole there even before Ford and GM said they would move production was becoming heavy with imports. Your own people had done what many here had already done and gone to the imported cars. The Mazda 3 has been the best seller and few seem to have issues if it was imported. The loss of national pride is no different than what we saw here in the 70’s and 80’s.
In the future the key to sales will be price as like our market the cars are to a point where people just have a hard time affording a new car. Many will offer smaller or discontented models in the future to draw in sales. Audi here just introduced a A3 with no heated or power seats, smaller engine and wheels etc. to get he price under $30,000.
This was not a plan of hate or a plan to get back at Aussies. It is a plan to save their market and keep prices and profits in check as much as they can. If everyone had stayed in country then it would be a level field but with everyone gone GM was at a great disadvantage.
I expect you to be upset and not happy but you also have to be rational and understand this in the big picture. This is a time to think with your head not heart.
In time if markets and currency change or labor cost drop they can come back as they have here in Michigan. We never thought we would see production start back in Detroit and GM has been doing it since the labor gave them a break.
So in this case take the good from it that you will get and deal with the pain as it will go away. Like life it is not always fair but you always find a way to deal with it. You are not the only ones to feel pain like this.
Very well thought out reply and although I don’t 100% agree with what you said I respect your opinion Scott. I hope 10 years down the track when you have a hsv GM model built and tuned outside of Australia that is an awesome road car you remember which country started that quality car standard, hell our $100,000 hsv gts was the fastest sedan in the world until a much more expensive Mercedes knocked it off. I’m sorry I can’t put my heart into gm anymore, I loved them all my life and had aspirations for a vette stingray until recently. Best of luck motoring Scott, May your roads be smooth and your car flying.
I’ve read the majority of the above… And I get it… Holden is as Australian as it gets.. And the death of Holden would be like losing Chevrolet here in North America (chevrolet is technically Canadian by the way.. Lol Americas brand)…
So anyways, back to this debate… I’m a Canadian horn in England but lived here pretty much all my life… For over 30 yrs I was a Pontiac fan… pontiac was a division of GM, not badge engineered, but distinct… Sure the Camaro and Firebird and the Monte Carlo and Grand Prix were basically the same car! but the Trans Am was always the better of the two.. I know Camaro guys will debate this… But the TA had more standard equipment, and way better interiors…
Anyways, I’ve owned a trans Am for over 25 yrs, and when GM announced the death of firebird I was first enraged, then sad, then apathetic…. Then I discovered Holden… Then I discovered the. VE… Then it was announced that ve was coming to America only… I was mad again (being canadian, and not getting the car), then finally they got here in 2009… Then GM announced all Pontiacs gone… And the full range of emotions over again… Fool forward to 2013… After having three supercharged grand prixs in a row it was time for a new (to me) car… And for what ever reason, I went cadillac cts 4 and not pontiac g8… Let’s just say the cts was a turd… Quality issues like a drafty pano roof, rust forming near the rear licence plate, door handle not working right, and then the transmission went with no warning 8 months after I got it and just barely out of warranty… Had a terrible service experience and lost all faith in the car after that… So need less to say, after 8 months of ownership it was traded in for my pontiac g8 (at a massive loss to me), and I will never ever own another all wheel drive cadillac.
To make a long story short, my revenge on GM is this… My “pontiac” was debadged within 2 days of ownership and a full suit of holden badges, owners manuals, keys, etc etc was ordered from Oz. My car is a holden Commodore SSV and will always be that way, so eff GM.
Oh and yes, this is the last late model GM I will ever own, I will buy German next, but this Australian built car is going no where, it’s ten times the car my cts was. And it’s not falling apart. :). I think the Australian cars will hold their value just fine here in canada.
I doubt the next car where ever it’s built will be like the ones made in Elizabeth.
Oh and we Don’t get the new ss here, again the Canadian GM/holden fans here are not happy about that either…