Holden to design two cars for China | CarAdvice

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Holden to design two cars for China

By Tim Beissmann
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Holden has signed a long-term deal with a General Motors affiliate in China that will see the Australian company develop at least two all-new vehicles for the world’s largest automotive market and shores up the future of the local design facility.

The agreement sees Holden join forces with Shanghai General Motors (SGM) and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) to develop the new vehicles, which will be based on GM global platforms and tailored for the Chinese market.

Crucially, Holden’s designers and engineers assigned to the project will be based at the company’s Port Melbourne Technical Centre. The announcement comes just weeks after Holden confirmed the details of a $1 billion-plus, 10-year co-investment agreement to secure its vehicle assembly operations in Elizabeth, South Australia until 2022. Last month’s deal will see Holden produce two all-new cars in the second half of this decade.

Holden chairman and managing director Mike Devereux said the China deal was another acknowledgement that Holden is a valued source of expertise within GM International Operations, being one of only seven fully-integrated design, engineering and manufacturing operations under the group’s global umbrella.

“We have worked with SGM and PATAC in recent years on smaller projects, but this is the first significant, long-term project to partner our organisations,” Devereux said.

“It gives the Holden workforce a great sense of pride to work on global vehicle programs like this and to see Australian design, engineering and manufacturing expertise exported around the world.”

GM has been the leading global manufacturer by sales in China for the past seven years, and last year sold in excess of 2.5 million vehicles under its Baojun, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Jiefang, Opel and Wuling brands. GM has 11 joint ventures and two wholly owned foreign enterprises in China, and employs more than 35,000 workers.

The engineering expertise of fellow local car maker Ford Australia is also being tapped for China, with a still-to-be-officially-confirmed small car project in development.


 

  • carbine

    Congratulations, Holden/GM Australia. I can only pray that Ford Global will see sense and do likewise with the talent and resources of Ford Australia operations.

    • Des

      Where have YOU been?  Ford Australia have been designing vehicles for the rest of the world for a while now – Ranger (& wagon derivative), Figo and an unnamed Chinese domestic model.

  • Robj

    The co-investment in Holden is looking pretty good now…. 

    • BIGJ

      I feel sorry for the designers though,

      being shifted first from designing fine automobiles such as the Zeta Platformed Commodore, Torana Concept, Camaro, Efijy Concept. Then to the boring Cruze “hatch” and now finally to the run of the mill cars for the chinese market.

      A few years ago their imagination could run wild…

  • Shak

    On the same day that Toyota announces it will start cutting 350 workers, Holden announces even more investment and confidence in its operations. Things seem to be getting better and better.

    • Sydlocal

      Toyota announced the sacking of the 350 workers months ago. This was just when they actually followed through with it.

    • Daveie

      The same month Toyota outsold Chevrolet in monthly U.S figures

      Toyota: 176,448

      Chevrolet: 173,073

      Lexus: 20,140

      Cadillac: 10,537

  • Sebastian, Style Messiah

    I want the cars to have dodgy chronograph type instrument clusters and lots of hard plastic ok! Oh, while you are at it I want the headlights to extend all the way to the A plillar… Part of the plastic surgery facelift design language.

  • scatman

    Interesting, be like eating chinese at the local RSL

  • Comp

    That’s it, teach & mentor the Chinese engineers and see what happens after the JV finishes.

    • Jason

       This is exactly what is occurring. Don’t kid yourself. Teach them how to engineer the vehicles and then they’ll end up designing and building them there. But in fairness to GM, will this be forced upon them by Chinese entrants dragging the market price down???

    • Des

      Get the full story first.
      This is a simple matter of GM managing their resources:
      - GM China is up to their eyeballs and can’t cover the rapidly advancing Chinese DOMESTIC market.
      - GM Australia has (plenty) of spare design capacity, so they’ve been given some work to do for the Chinese.

      Perfectly good business sence if you ask me!

  • Beentheredonethat

    Watch your intellectual property. Within five years the Australian designers will be out of work as the Chinese learn to do it for themselves by syphoning off the knowledge. India works the same way. They get someone to design on project for them then they claim the information for themselves and do another project cheaper without Australian help.

  • JamesB

    Holden’s shoddy build quality will seem like Audi in China. In a few years, we will probably be importing the Commodore from there.

    • focused

      Not sure where this comment is coming from. Australian cars I’ve driven have been much better in reliability than South African built euros I’ve had.

      • Jinnzhang

         I can tell you that in terms of build quality, some GM factories in China do better than Holden factory here.

  • 440 R/T Charger

    A Holden Cap-Rice?

  • save it for the track

    Designers and engineers based in Melbourne. The vehicles will not be built and exported from Melbourne. How many designers and engineers will this keep employed? Will some or all of them simply be part of a team working on the Chinese project and still be working on other projects? It is not clear how many actual jobs this will involve.
    .
    I wonder just how many years it will take for ‘the economic situation to change’ and more cuts to come. lets not forget GM is primarily a US company, and if things worsen again in the future, minor outposts like Australia will be first to be cut.

  • Peanut

    This is a good chance to resurrect the Torana !!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

    • Shak

      Remember, two All new Vehicles by 2022…Whose to say one wont be a production version of the Code130R Concept with the nameplate Torana.

      • Rocket

        A smaller RWD sedan (BMW 3 series size) would be great but the Torana name plate may be a bit old school. Cant see the Kingswood or Gemini name plates returning either for the same reason. Sure there were some good model Toranas but some of them were rubbish to.

  • Guest

    I have always wondered if they would be designed here and built in China, it appears it’s heading that way.

  • xiao_dong

    Seriously now, what do the aussies know about designing cars ……