GM Holden confirms small car production
December 22, 2008 by David Twomey
GM-Holden has confirmed the most rumoured decision in the Australian automotive industry, that it will follow the lead of rival Ford and build a small car in Australia.
GM Holden Chairman and Managing Director, Mark Reuss, made the announcement at a press conference today and said the new vehicle would begin production in the third quarter of 2010, with both Federal and South Australian Government financial assistance.
The vehicle, which will be built on the GM global platform know as Delta will be built in the Elizabeth, South Australia, manufacturing plant, alongside the current Commodore.
The plant currently builds the Commodore, including export versions which are sold as Chevrolets in the Middle East predominantly, and in the United States where they are marked as Pontiacs. It previously also built an earlier version of the Vectra.
It would appear that the project will not add jobs to the South Australian workforce as Mr Reuss said the program would require 500 to 600 existing employees at Elizabeth and is estimated to provide 500 to 600 local supplier positions.
The vehicle, based on General Motors’ global Delta small car platform and feature new technologies to increase fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse emissions.
The new front-wheel-drive vehicle will be built as a sedan and hatch and design and engineering work will take place at the company’s headquarters in Port Melbourne, Victoria.
Mr Reuss said start-stop hybrid technology and capacity to run on alternative fuels such as E85, diesel, LPG and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) are all being considered for the vehicle’s development.
It will be GM Holden’s first locally produced car beyond its current range of larger vehicles since the Asian economic crisis ended Vectra production in 1998.
The vehicle will be built in the south bodyshop of the Elizabeth facility, which was previously used for the Vectra assembly in the late 1990s.
Mr Reuss said the announcement provided an opportunity to take a leading role in developing alternative fuel and fuel saving technologies in Australia for Australians.
Mr Reuss said the program would be a major contributor to the economy, generating an estimated $70 million to $80 million in wages and $30 million in research and development.
“Together with Government, we are extending the scope and consumer appeal of our local manufacturing efforts,” Mr Reuss said.
“We have been building Holden cars to suit the needs of Australian motorists for 60 years and these plans build on that tradition.
“We recognise the needs and desires of motorists are evolving with growing concern around environmental factors and shifting consumer sentiment.
“Such evolution calls for an innovative approach to complement our current offering.
“Just as our leading Commodore range will continue to undergo technological development, this new vehicle will cater for growing demand for smaller cars focused on economy.
“We are planning for the future to produce a wider range of cars in Australia to cater for a variety of driving needs.”
He added that flexible manufacturing infrastructure would be introduced to the Elizabeth plant to make it capable of producing a series of GM global vehicles in years to come.
It also provides opportunity to develop an export program for the vehicle, particularly to other right hand drive markets around the world.
Mr Reuss paid tribute to the Federal and South Australian Governments for their ongoing commitment to the Australian automotive industry.
“The Rudd Government’s Green Car Innovation Fund has provided opportunity to turn our plans into reality,” Mr Reuss said.
“This announcement complements the vision we share with the Government of reducing Australia’s dependence on foreign oil and making motoring better for the environment.
“It demonstrates commitment to an Australian automotive industry which extends beyond manufacturing at GM Holden to thousands of suppliers and dealers across the country.
“That demonstration was clearly seen by our parent company in its decision to support this program.
“The support of the Federal and South Australian Governments in securing this program recognises the fundamental role which automotive manufacturing makes to national and state economies.”
GM Group Vice President and Asia Pacific President, Nick Reilly, today added his support to the program as proof of GM’s capacity to innovate across the region.
“This announcement recognises the ability of GM, GM Holden and the Australian automotive industry to see the future and move in the right direction,” Mr Reilly said.
Holden isn’t giving a lot away about the exact detail of the new vehicle, unlike Ford, which is well advanced with planning to build the next generation Ford Focus in Melbourne from 2011.
The new small, front-wheel-drive, four-cylinder vehicle to be built by GM Holden at Elizabeth will be based on General Motors’ global Delta small car architecture.
Other examples of the architecture will include the next generation Chevrolet Cruze and Opel, Vauxhall and Saturn Astra.
The architecture was primarily developed by GM Europe in Russelsheim, Germany for GM markets around the world.
Local design and engineering work on the Australian vehicle will take place at GM Holden’s Port Melbourne headquarters in Victoria.
Direct injected petrol and diesel variants of the vehicle will be produced with GM Holden considering a range of alternative fuel or fuel saving technologies including E85, LPG, CNG and start-stop hybrid capability.
Further details about the vehicle including its nameplate, design specifications and pricing will be determined closer to the time of production.
Print it: 
“Whereas and we don’t want to see any of the local car manufacturers close etc..”
Looking at the axing of TRD australia article, I don’t believe that to be true!!!
Also, what is that chev depicted on the last photo?
I got to admit it looks really good!
Goodness. First, TRD goes down the tube (haha, it can wave hello to the Fairlane on the way down) and now this!
I definitely feel a pink hankie moment coming on. Damned funny stuff, for those in the know.
McKay,
I was managing a Toyota dealership when the Aurion was released. I can tell you there are 3000 points of difference between the Camry and the Aurion. Cabin measurement are not the same. During the Toyota road show at Mt Cotton’s driver training centre we meet with some Government officials who were there to drive the car as well. One mentioned to me (while driving at some ridicules speed around the track) that the security dividers that separate drivers and passengers currently used in Holden and Ford do fit perfectly into the Aurion.
dingo,
the salesman is right.tough being right about eyerything…
Salesman, I think that you are being one here!
An Aurion IS a V6 Camry.
Any variation in interior dimensions is only due to trim differences. All of the sheetmetal that defines the basic body structure is exactly the same.
You can take a Camry, bolt on Aurion front/rear bumpers & lights, and bonnet/boot and externally you have an Aurion.
BTW the bootlid change actually robs the Aurion of boot space by some 30L over camry.
The Camira is back!
Torana…….if Holden call this car a Torana every mocasin wearing super bogan with a cigarette packet in his t-shirt sleeve will buy one !! lol lol lol Camira brings back memories of Holdens small car expertise ……lol what a shitbox that was…….
Yeah but the Camira won Wheels Car Of The Year didn’t it? so everythinge elso on the market at the time must have been worse – mustn’t they?
Bret,
Maybe i have been doing this to long and it translates into everything i do?(Even my kids negotiate bed time with me, so it might be rubbing off on them to) I remember David Butler being asked the question and he was very specific on the differences. From memory he said, and I quote.
“Toyota want to be very clear, the Aurion is not a Camry but a whole new venture into the V6 market”
If you have evidence to suggest other wise i would be keen to see it, i would hate to be misinformed and giving out the wrong information.
I am not saying you are wrong, there are some similarities. I was at the release during Toyotas nation wide road show; I even got a hat and a pen, i doubt they would mislead us.
I think this will work for Holden, i would like to believe that Australians are still a patriotic bunch who like to see the Aussie battler have a win. They should definitely call it the Gemini. Also the entry level needs to have a sharp price point, and be well specified. Don’t muck about with this one Holden, know your market and blow it out of the water. Show Australians you will support us as much as we have supported you over the last 60 years.
my mother has a SJ camira and the this is a hunk of junk. driving the thing feels like a punishment. and wheels mag will promote anything with a holden badge.
Neo,
The Camira was ground braking in its day, the Mitsubishi Magna won car of the year four times in a row, even with the in built timing chain rattle. Of course if your mum still has one and it has not been maintained it would be, as you say, a hunk of junk. Why does your mum make you drive it, have you been naughty? :)
T.S.
i recently had a good look at a camry and Aurion side by side.
they share almost all external panels.
the boot is different, but only slightly, the front looks quite different, but if you blank out the lights and front bar etc, they has the exact same architecture as each other.
check out the sill lines and front and rear guards. dead ringers…
Salesman – Toyota would mislead us they do it all the time. I remember when they said that the TRD Aurion is the First Australian made Car with a supercharged V6 engine… Yet The Holden CV-6 Monaro came out 4 years earlier which had an Eaton Supercharger [ and no engine fires ]
Funny thing is it turned out to be as popular as the TRD.
It was the first FWD supercharged V6 maybe?
If i am wrong then i stand corrected. I am only regurgitating the information i was given. I still have connections in the Toyota camp so i will do some investigating.
what happens if GM dont meet the bush/obama contracts with their grant monies by march/april next year, do holden still build any cars
They’ll most liely give them more money – because they got to decde is it better to give the big 3 remporary financial assistance .. help them through the restructuring process and keep emn going thereby keeping millions of [unskilled] American in a job OR let GM and Ford go under and have to pay out millions in social security paymetns to the ex-workers each week?
I think that GM and Ford will pull-out of the US and relocate operations to either Europe or even Australia.. given the American Auto Workers who are getting paid upto $45p/hr +penalties etc have refused to accept a pay cut of up to $15p/hr and keep their jobs. So they could actually be using the money on getting ready for the move
it’s a similar case to what Kodak did in Australia in the late 80s: the Australian Gummint gave Kodak $m’s for future development – 6 months later they were gone
Either way Holden will be here for quite some time as its quite obvious Holden means alot to GM and plays a vital role in their future –
I mean GM gave Holden money to build a completely all new all Australian designed large RWD car instead of making them take a modified Pontiac Sigma at a time when GM were in a similar financial situation to what they are now.
And now they have approved Holden to tool up and build a new small-medium sized car. They can see Holdens Potential and they are taking advantage of their RWD exoerience ans well as their engineering ability and ingenuity etc
The Salesman
i lernt to drive in the Camira i dont drive it anymore. magna is leaps ahead of the Camira.
Salesman,
Nope Toyota spin. Of course they told you it was a different car, they told everybody. (With reportedly the most expensive single marketing campaign in Aus motoring history).
It’s the same body structure – only differences are
- the engine/trans (of course)
- interior trim
- Bonnet & Boot lid (the only sheetmetal difference)
- Front/rear bumpers
- Front/rear light clusters.
- The NAME
Toyota have marketed the V6 Camry as an Aurion – OFFICIALLY it is a different car – reallity is it isn’t.
Aurion – (only) the NAME has changed.
Bret,
even the interior structure is the same. when you mention interior trim, it is very much only the actual trim.
a change of colours and cloth type, thats pretty much it.
ford and holden change just as much when you step from a pov pack model to an XR6 or SV6 etc
Wheelnut……Ford are not asking for money and are not getting any money from the US Gov…..only GM and Chrysler. Get your facts straight. They have only asked for a line of credit if (well it will be when) GM and hrysler go bust. As this could leave them without some suppliers and interupt their business.
Why are they getting “green funding” to build a small 4 cylinder car? Sorry, I don’t get it, it might be a really fuel efficient 4 cylinder motor, but I still don’t get it.
Ethanol? Seriously thats a joke. LPG, in a small 4 cylinder car..okay, will that be optional, ie, that will be another 2000 thx? Cylinder deactivation? in a small 4 cylinder car..ok..lol. sorry guys, but this is a joke, and guess who is going to end up paying for all of this..
The mug taxpayer as usual Max.
in latest news,
the viva got dropped today,rest in peace pig…
looks like cruze to take it’s place
Jeckyl,
is that so???
well perhaps a story should be run on that rather than the many off topic horror road toll stories
Just to put to bed any ideas that anyone had about this being unique to or designed in Aus:
GM design executive Simcoe says the sedan and hatch versions of Holden’s small car will be near-identical – both inside and out – to the Chevrolet Cruze versions rather than custom-designed for Australia
However, as part of the global lineup GMH are doing the hatch styling (and were well before GMH dipped into the Govt money bucket for local production).
If the new small car ended up looking like the sketch [above] I would be very interested [it looks like a retro-tech led sled hot rod] However; I don’t think it will.. as given the current climate I suspect that the Accountants will have more of a say in this project
Although the Cruze doesn’t look that bad either except from the front end.. maybe if it was more like the TT-36 Concept
Here is one that hasn’t been done before.How about calling it Holden Kadett.After all the Opel Original back in 1973 was the basis of the Early Geminis before Europe went front drive for it’s replacement