Shortly after GM filed for the Chevrolet Cavalier trademark in April, some began speculating that the car – which is currently sold exclusively in China – could replace the also-discontinued Holden Astra in Australia. At that time, we wrote that we seriously doubted that this will be the case, since GM’s future plans for global small cars indicate an entirely different direction. Now, we’re back to explain why the Cavalier will not come to Australia, ever.
1. It’s Simply Not Good Enough For Australia
The first red flag is the product itself. We can’t stress enough how the Chinese-market Chevrolet Cavalier is a ho-hum, bottom-feeder of a car. Based on the outgoing GM D2 platform (same as our now-defunct Chevrolet Cruze), the Chinese Cav was developed specifically for China and was meant to be as affordable as possible.
In other words, it was not engineered to be engaging to drive, nor deliver any sort of driving dynamics or refinement. That’s a big “no-no” for Australia, a market that tends to favor well-put-together cars that are engaging to drive.
What’s more, adapting the platform to The Australian New Car Assessment Program’s (ANCAP) updated safety regulations would be very costly, especially for a car sold in only one market (albeit the world’s largest automotive market). In all, the Cavalier was developed by GM’s Chinese operations for China, and was never intended to see any export market, especially a relatively advanced market such as Australia.
2. There’s A New Small Car Architecture
The second red flag is GM’s overall direction as it relates to small cars. GM is currently revamping its strategy for developing markets by developing scalable architecture known as the GEM platform. GEM will help The General scale small cars for emerging markets, making them more profitable and quicker to develop. We’ve already seen what GEM can do with the all-new Chevrolet Onix sedan, and all future small GM vehicles for developing markets will be based on these bones.
So, the Chevrolet Cavalier does not use GEM, instead being the oldest GM vehicle to ride D2 – a platform that has been end-of-lifed in favor of the VSS undertaking. So it simply would not make sense to spend the money to engineer adopting the Cavalier to ANCAP and bring it to Australia, only to have a much more worthwhile architecture waiting in the wings with GEM.
But there’s a gotcha: GEM is for developing markets only, with many a GM exec telling us over the last several months that no GEM-based vehicle will ever make it outside of “developing markets.” Meanwhile, Australia is far from a developing market. On the contrary, it’s as developed of a market as it gets. Hence, that puts the GEM platform out of the running for underpinning a potential future GM-Holden economy sedan for Australia.
3. The Grand Finale
But the biggest reason that the Chevrolet Cavalier will never come to Australia is even more simple: the car has been discontinued in China.
The model has been indirectly replaced by the Chevrolet Monza and the aforementioned Onix. So, no more Cavalier… not for China… not for Australia… not for anyone.
As it stands, it would seem that GM’s struggling Holden division will continue without a compact sedan once all already-produced units of the Astra Sedan, itself a rebadged Chevy Cruze sedan, sell out.
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Comments
The Cavalier, Monza, and Onix all look about the same to me. I guess you could throw the Cruze in there too.
They do have a similar resemblance, but all are on quite different architectures… which is a problem for scalability and, ultimately, for profit. That’s what the GEM platform aims to solve – one platform for all low-cost vehicles.
Aveo, forgot that one ?
No, I didn’t forget the Aveo.
It doesn’t look like these at all.
Hey Alex,
Totally off this subject, but I have a question. Do you guys have any articles or info about Bose, specifically in GM cars? Is there any open forum on Bose that you know of? I have questions and just left a comment on the August 19th Corvette Bose article that may give you more of what I’m asking. Thanks.
I thought the Mexican Aveo was a rebadge of the Chinese market Sail. Chevrolet Mexico sells the Cavalier as the Cavalier. The current 2020 model year Chevy Mexico small car line up is Beat, Spark, Aveo & Cavalier, with the Onix coming for model year 2021 (possibly replacing the Cavalier).
Correct, the Cavalier is still sold in Mexico (same as the Chinese version) and the Aveo in Mexico is a rebadged Sail.
So does that mean China is still building Cavaliers for Mexico? Or is Mexico building them now?
Nate you’re wrong again, Aveo in mexico is the cavalier….
Still are all junk,
Like a bic lighter when it runs out of gas just throw it away, or send it down under.
I’ll agree with you there.
GM has ceded the sedan segment to the Japanese and Korean carmaker.
GM has no interest in building quality or excitement on par with Civic or Mazda 3, the local segment leaders.
GM is following the money. Like most business decisions, it’s a gamble.
Offering low end vehicles that don’t make any profit, but might help maintain market share isn’t as necessary if you don’t have extra manufacturing capacity and surplus workers to keep busy.
Not having entry level vehicles or not covering every segment is a risk though.
@Steve Colmar:
I sell Mazda’s and the Mazda 3 is far from a segment leader. In my work, I deliver cars all over southern California and ride back to the dealership in many Uber’s and a lot of them are Civic’s. Again, even farther from class leading unless you feel that acres of cheap hard plastic, a mushy CVT transmission and road noise that rivals a soft top Miata are segment leader qualities.
Could be an totally new premium small car/CUV platform for 1st world nations GM is working on (though I won’t hold my breath).
I’d suggested before an CT4 based “Nova” for a compact car 1st world markets and as a top premium performance car in GEM platform markets.
They stopped selling the Astra sedan some time ago. Production ended in May last year.
The current models which come from Poland will end production soon as well. GMH has made no announcement for the incoming three cylinder models.
Car prices are on the march in Australia. Last year you could get a car for about $10k, the minimum price for vehicles is now approaching $20k list. It”ll be $25k by the middle of next year and pennies under $30k by the end of the year.
Distributors are reducing their ranges and eliminating economy models.
Once local production ends distributors no longer have any need to clear production levels and prices rise. The short honeymoon of low prices after the end of local production has ended.
You failed to mentioned the biggest hurdle – the steering wheel is on the wrong side.
Is it possible the new Monza will be renamed Cavalier for doveloped markets since it rides on the latest fwd platform?.
bigger question is, what have GM got that they will be prepared to make in right hand drive?
as Australia/New Zealand are the only 2 volume RHD markets left for GM
Aren’t the two first points meaningless since the car has been discontinued. Point 3?
WTH.
Why won’t the car be sold in Australia? Or anywhere else for that matter. Because it has been discontinued!
Sure. But the first two points explain why the Cavalier wouldn’t have been sold in Australia even if it were still in production.
Some of the rubbish that’s found its way into Australia since local production ended is criminal. It must be a shocker if it’s been tagged not good enough! Unfortunately you reap what you sow, we were our own worst enemy and we are now living to regret it.
The author’s comment “…the Astra Sedan, itself a rebadged Chevy Cruze Sedan…” is questionable. I own a Holden Cruze, and have driven a Chevy Cruze when in the USA recently, and the two cars are the same, apart from the position of the steering wheel. My partner owns a Holden Astra, and in no way is it similar to my Cruze. William Clavey might know his stuff in North America, but he got it wrong when he comments on cars Down Under. John Smith, Highett Australia
The pictures on Wikipedia of the seventh generation Holden Astra look exactly like my 2018 Cruze. The exact same fenders, headlights, mirrors, etc. Obviously they changed the grill though. I’m not talking about family resemblance either – it’s obviously the same body.
The hatchback even looks nearly identical to my mother in laws Cruze hatchback.
Perhaps you’re comparing two different generations?