The Chevy Tahoe and Chevy Suburban may arrive in Australia in the not-too-distant future thanks to General Motors Special Vehicles.
Australian publication WhichCar.com.au says it spoke to “informed sources” who indicated both the Chevy Tahoe and the extended wheelbase Chevy Suburban are under consideration for the GMSV portfolio. Just like the GMSV-converted Chevrolet Silverado 1500, the full-size SUVs would be shipped to Australia and converted from right-hand-drive to left-hand-drive by Walkinshaw Automotive Group.
While neither the Chevy Tahoe or Suburban have been sold in Australia before, there is a demand for large, capable, body-on-frame three-row SUVs in the region. The Toyota Land Cruiser Prado is among the best-selling SUVs in Australia and features a body-on-frame platform and full-time four-wheel drive. The discontinued Holden Trailblazer (also known as the Holden Colorado 7 and global Chevy TrailBlazer) also featured body-on-frame construction, three rows of seating and placed emphasis on off-road capability.
The Cadillac Escalade, which is based on the same GM T1 platform as the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban, may also be under consideration for an Australian launch under the GMSV banner.
If the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban do arrive in Australia, it’s possible they will only be offered in limited trim levels. The GMSV-spec Chevy Silverado 1500, for example, is only offered in LTZ trim level with the 6.2L L87 V8 engine and GM 10-speed automatic transmission. The company charges $113,990 AUD for the truck before optional extras and on-road costs.
Other vehicles set to join the GMSV portfolio in the future include the Chevy Silverado 2500HD, 2021 Corvette and perhaps the Chevy Camaro as well.
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Comments
“converted from right-hand-drive to left-hand-drive by Walkinshaw Automotive Group.”???
converted from right hand drive?? why not ship left hand drive vehicles(US versions) to Australia??
this doesn’t make sense
Not only that you’ve have quality issues and limitations due to parts and options designed to fit in LHD only vehicles can’t be configured to RHD.
It’s been going on for decades and Detroit IIRC pioneered the CKD car for local production and modification but now too lazy to produce RHD like America is the only market today. 2 Billion people and 3 1st World countries are in RHD nations, it’s incompetence to leave that much cash on the table..
You can’t drive or import LHD vehicles in Australia.
You actually can, to both. Many people drive LHD, provided they’re not fresh from the factory.
They have to be at least 30 years old before they can be registered.
You can import any yank vehicle to Australia, so long as it’s at least 25 years old you can register it as a LHD.
In Queensland, Australia the current rules are that left hand cars 30 years or older can stay left hand drive.
Would sell in low numbers but would probably still be worth it
They should have the diesel as an option. I know farmers in Australia have brought some pickups over. They shouldn’t have to pay nearly double to get one.
It’s a typo; they mean converted from left hand drive to right hand drive
Gmsv should bring in gm utes and 2.8l van to australia, the trades will love it, don’t do passenger unless for speed or the escalade
The Suburban has been sold in Australia before under a Holden badge.
I know your “right hand drive to left hand drive” sentence was a typo, so I won’t grill you on that, but…
Mate. You’re writing for a GM news website.
The Suburban *HAS* been sold in Australia before, contrary to what you have written in this article.
From 1998, through to 2001, Australia – via General Motors Holden – received the Holden Suburban: the GMT410 to be precise. Remanufactured from LHD to RHD in Mexico, using a stretched S10 Blazer dashboard to accomodate for the fact that no RHD GMT400 equivalent existed.
There were two trim levels. The major difference was the increase in seating from 8 to 9 between them, not much else.
There were also two other major differences; the K1500 came with a 5.7L Vortec V8, paired with a 4L60e – not a great combination at all – and the K2500, which came with a 6.5L Detroit Diesel V8, paired with a turbo and a 4L80e. Both were 4WD. The C models (RWD) were never sold here and the 454 (or 7.4L V8) option on the 2500 was also never offered.
Please, before you publish articles about a topic, do a basic level of research. Thanks.
Firstly, it’s certainly great news that via GMSV, Australia will be seeing more Chevrolet models and perhaps even Cadillacs. These two GM brands without question form the future for General Motors in Australia and indeed the rest of the world!
That said, this will not be the first time that GM has sold the Chevrolet Suburban in Australia. Back in 1988 GM-H sold RHD Chevrolet Suburbans through GM-H dealers. For reasons I will never understand GM-H re-badged these Chevrolet Suburbans as ‘Holden’ Suburbans. Many owners immediately replaced the Holden badges with Chevrolet badges.
Perhaps the most disappointing thing about General Motors is that like many car manufacturers almost all of their ‘offerings’ are now truck based SUVs or the like. Genuine passenger cars are few and far between.
I own one of the very last GMH production VN Series II Holden Caprices (built July 31, 2017). A great replacement for this car would have been a Cadillac CT6 but sadly these CT6 Cadillacs will never see GMSV showrooms.
I have been a keen supporter GM vehicles for most of my life and have 4 GM passenger vehicles in our garage but unless GM offers some genuine full size passenger cars that are not tall ‘truck’ based SUVs then I have probably purchased my last GM vehicle.
Great to see General Motors – Special vehicles moving ahead with its establishment in Australia but a genuine shame that GMSV will not be offering any real passenger cars.
You said the Tahoe & suburban were never sold in Australia thats incorrect chevy built 800 factory RHD ones in Mexico that were sold here between 98-01, and they left the factory incomplete, having no chevrolet badging at all.
maybe GM should FIRST get the inventory up in the USA…..dealers around NY state have either no Yukons or maybe one in inventory……
The so called Chevrolet SUBURBAN has been in Australia under the HOLDEN SUBURBAN. It was a monstrosity clumsy vehicle. Haven’t seen one on Australian roads in years. Parking bays are to small for big cars
Carl Kelsen got it right, Sam McEachern got it wrong. I don’t want to be too hard on you Sam, I know that I have made a few typos in the past, but please check THE facts before you pass them on as YOUR facts. Regards from Down Under. aussiejohn
Well, its been 20 years since the Suburban was last sold in Australia, and they do have a following there. Hopefully the second time is a charm.
“While suburban has never been offered before in Australia ”
Well im driving a 1999 suburban right now in Australia holden suburban it was badged as looks like you gotta do more research there bud just to let ya know.
Your very wrong , the Holden suburban was sold from 1998-2001 so get it right , the whole article is false and should be redone ,. You should not have gotten paid to spread false lies
Your very wrong , the Holden suburban was sold from 1998-2001 so get it right , the whole article is false and should be redone ,. You should not have gotten paid to spread false