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Holden export announcement imminent
Holden is expected to confirm "very soon" it will begin exporting thousands of Commodores to the US from 2013.
Holden’s worst kept secret – that it will begin exporting Commodores to the United States next year – is about to be officially confirmed.
Industry insiders have told Drive a major announcement from Holden is expected "very soon", with one outlet predicting an announcement will be made on Friday. The maker is expected to confirm that the Commodore will be exported to the US where it will be sold as a Chevrolet SS, or SuperSport.
The export deal is expected to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars and form the basis for a crucial new V8-powered performance model for Chevrolet. It could also expand to involve ute and sportwagon variants.
The major export announcement will be welcome news for Holden executives and politicians who have borne the brunt of criticism of continued government handouts to the car industry, which openly admits it would not survive without such financial assistance.
The new Chevrolet SS Performance - as the exported Commodore is likely to be known - will also form the basis for Chevrolet's Nascar race car from 2013, which is currently undergoing testing and is expected to be revealed later this year.
Chevrolet is keen to better align the model it races in the hugely popular Nascar race series with a performance model it sells on the road; the current Impala that is marketed through Nascar is a volume-selling family vehicle rather than a performance car.
Longer term, recent rumours suggest the Commodore and the Chevrolet equivalent could ultimately be produced in North America and exported back to Australia as part of a major restructure of Holden's local operations as GM shifts its production focus to global vehicles rather than unique models for individual markets.
Tellingly, when recently committing to more than $1 billion of investment in local manufacturing chairman and managing director Mike Devereux shied away from questions about what cars it would produce locally from about 2017, when the soon-to-be-updated VF Commodore is expected to finish.
Holden is also playing its cards super close to its chest, preferring to leave people guessing as to whether or not the Commodore is dead - partly because it likely hasn’t finalised long term details of its local operations.
Holden is believed to have pulled forward the imminent export announcement of the Commodore export program due to numerous leaks and well-informed rumours, including one from GM's own telematics system known as OnStar; its website recently - and briefly - announced a new "2013 SS Performance" model.
Despite being the face of Chevrolet's Nasar challenger, the V8-only Commodore-based model is expected to be relatively low volume - and much fewer than the 50,000-odd Pontiacs predicted as part of the previous Commodore export deal.
The car that will be exported will be based on the new VF Commodore that will get revised front and rear styling, updated engines and a lighter body that utilises more lightweight aluminium.
The Chevrolet version will obviously wear the brand’s bowtie badge and sport mild styling tweaks - as well as having the steering wheel on the left-hand side.
The genesis of the VF Commodore export program is believed to have been put in place by former Holden boss and now chief of General Motors' North American operations, Mark Reuss.
Reuss recently told Drive that large cars have a long term future and were a crucial part of GM's global mix.
Holden is already exporting the longer, more spacious Commodore-based Caprice sedan to the US where it is sold as police and detective cars, known as PPV, or Police Patrol Vehicle.
But sales have been sluggish as police remain loyal to the ageing - and now discontinued - Ford Crown Victoria, with some dealers now selling the police-ready vehicles directly to private buyers as near-new used vehicles.
Between 2007 and 2009 Holden also exported the Commodore to the US where it was sold as a Pontiac G8.
But the program was killed off when the Global Financial Crisis took hold, ultimately leading to GM's bankruptcy and the axing of the once popular Pontiac brand.
Holden to export Commodore to the US from 2013
Holden is expected to confirm "very soon" it will begin exporting thousands of Commodores to the US from 2013.
Holden’s worst kept secret – that it will begin exporting Commodores to the United States next year – is about to be officially confirmed.
Industry insiders have told Drive a major announcement from Holden is expected "very soon", with one outlet predicting an announcement will be made on Friday. The maker is expected to confirm that the Commodore will be exported to the US where it will be sold as a Chevrolet SS, or SuperSport.
The export deal is expected to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars and form the basis for a crucial new V8-powered performance model for Chevrolet. It could also expand to involve ute and sportwagon variants.
The major export announcement will be welcome news for Holden executives and politicians who have borne the brunt of criticism of continued government handouts to the car industry, which openly admits it would not survive without such financial assistance.
The new Chevrolet SS Performance - as the exported Commodore is likely to be known - will also form the basis for Chevrolet's Nascar race car from 2013, which is currently undergoing testing and is expected to be revealed later this year.
Chevrolet is keen to better align the model it races in the hugely popular Nascar race series with a performance model it sells on the road; the current Impala that is marketed through Nascar is a volume-selling family vehicle rather than a performance car.
Longer term, recent rumours suggest the Commodore and the Chevrolet equivalent could ultimately be produced in North America and exported back to Australia as part of a major restructure of Holden's local operations as GM shifts its production focus to global vehicles rather than unique models for individual markets.
Tellingly, when recently committing to more than $1 billion of investment in local manufacturing chairman and managing director Mike Devereux shied away from questions about what cars it would produce locally from about 2017, when the soon-to-be-updated VF Commodore is expected to finish.
Holden is also playing its cards super close to its chest, preferring to leave people guessing as to whether or not the Commodore is dead - partly because it likely hasn’t finalised long term details of its local operations.
Holden is believed to have pulled forward the imminent export announcement of the Commodore export program due to numerous leaks and well-informed rumours, including one from GM's own telematics system known as OnStar; its website recently - and briefly - announced a new "2013 SS Performance" model.
Despite being the face of Chevrolet's Nasar challenger, the V8-only Commodore-based model is expected to be relatively low volume - and much fewer than the 50,000-odd Pontiacs predicted as part of the previous Commodore export deal.
The car that will be exported will be based on the new VF Commodore that will get revised front and rear styling, updated engines and a lighter body that utilises more lightweight aluminium.
The Chevrolet version will obviously wear the brand’s bowtie badge and sport mild styling tweaks - as well as having the steering wheel on the left-hand side.
The genesis of the VF Commodore export program is believed to have been put in place by former Holden boss and now chief of General Motors' North American operations, Mark Reuss.
Reuss recently told Drive that large cars have a long term future and were a crucial part of GM's global mix.
Holden is already exporting the longer, more spacious Commodore-based Caprice sedan to the US where it is sold as police and detective cars, known as PPV, or Police Patrol Vehicle.
But sales have been sluggish as police remain loyal to the ageing - and now discontinued - Ford Crown Victoria, with some dealers now selling the police-ready vehicles directly to private buyers as near-new used vehicles.
Between 2007 and 2009 Holden also exported the Commodore to the US where it was sold as a Pontiac G8.
But the program was killed off when the Global Financial Crisis took hold, ultimately leading to GM's bankruptcy and the axing of the once popular Pontiac brand.
Holden to export Commodore to the US from 2013
.....good news for the commodore though hopefully it will cash holden up enough to be able to keep making it past 2018.
