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GM Appears To Once Again Flirt With Launching Cadillac In Australia

Cadillac came close to launching in Australia in 2009, but the global economic downturn pulled the plug on a local launch. Nearly 10 years later, Cadillac appears to be back on the table for Oz.

Car Advice reported Wednesday that Mark Reuss, General Motors executive vice president and president of global product and Cadillac, said the U.S. automaker is “certainly capable” of launching the luxury brand locally. He spoke of his time as Holden managing director in 2008 and 2009 when Cadillac was readying a launch but recalled, “we had to make some really tough decisions on a cash basis.”

He added GM only has one chance to launch a luxury brand in Australia, and in 2009, GM couldn’t fully commit to Cadillac. Since then, things have changed.

Newly minted Holden managing director Dave Buttner told media at the same press briefing that he’s not “taking anything off of the table,” and that includes a Cadillac launch.

“We need to understand what resonates with Australian consumers, what’s relevant in terms of the relationship to what we want to be as a Holden brand, and ensure we have those correct products in place,” Buttner said.

The luxury brand’s potential launch in Oz could shed some light on why Holden is barred from choosing any Cadillac cars for its portfolio. GM vice president of global design, Michael Simcoe, told GM Authority last year that Holden can choose from any GM cars globally to import for local sale—except Cadillac.

Former Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen previously spoke of an Australian launch as well. The strategy, and it’s unclear if it still remains, was to achieve volume in North America and China before taking the brand to Europe and the right-hand-drive market in the United Kingdom.

“When you go into right-hand drive for the UK, that opens opportunity for RHD markets elsewhere in the world, because you obviously want to generate the economies of scale,” de Nysschen said in March 2017.

The former Cadillac boss added that he wanted to see a launch include a full portfolio of cars “as opposed to entering one car at a time as that’s not a feasible way to establish a network.”

Former GM Authority staff writer.

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Comments

  1. Well I think this was kind of expected as they have been testing the new cars there and the new Alpha upgrade should also have a LHD provision.

    Reply
    1. Er, they tested Alpha One in Australia too, but they never sold it there. Reuss used to be head of Holden and he said when GM closed Elizabeth that the proving grounds and design center would always remain an essential part of testing and developing every vehicle in GM’s portfolio. Just because you see shots of the car in Oz doesn’t mean therefore they are developing it for Oz.

      Scott3, your levels of guessing and not-checking are increasing since 2 years ago.

      Reply
      1. See me when it goes on sale in a year or two.

        You were off on the mid engine Vette too.

        GM is making a more global move in the future not because they want to but because they have to. Many of these vehicles we like need to find new markets to hold the total volume to make them viable to build.

        Also with Australia they need to bring in more models as the Holden is pretty much a name only since they could not reach volumes that were economically viable like every other brand that was in country.

        When you have a country that buys less cars than California and is isolated it is hard anymore with development cost to be independent anymore.

        Heck it is hard for automakers to just make vehicles just for the American market anymore due to the high cost of development anymore.

        Reply
        1. The four “anymore” make those last two sentences harder to understand.

          Reply
  2. If. And if Cadillac enters the Australian market, they better not leave within a few years. It would be preferable if Holden is strengthened – [Product, Sales network, Service and Spares] first. Later maybe get Cadillac in the market. Mercedes, BMW and Audi are strong competitors. GM does not seem to have a very clear vision, Chevrolet leaves Europe. Opel and Vauxhall is sold. Chevrolet closes in India… where do they intend to compete?…..only the US and China?

    Reply
    1. … and in Latin America, and to the rulers of the oil rich dictatorships on the Arab peninsula (the only place where GMC is marketed outside of North America).

      And in two years from now, GM may return to Europe with the Chevrolet mass market cars from Spark to Malibu. And those would certainly be sourced as before from GM Korea. South Korea has a Free Trade Agreement with the EU since 2011.

      Reply
  3. Has the Warren development center finally learned to design cars which can run off the same assembly line with both LHD and RHD position of the steering wheel and foot pedals?

    That would be a revolution, justifying world wide celebrations!

    Reply
    1. Holden designers and engineers started manufacturing both LHD and RHD cars on the same line 20 years ago in Australia and were damn good at it.

      But that’s all gone now …

      Reply

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