Holden suspends Astra imports

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By David Twomey | April 24th, 2009

GM Holden has taken the unprecedented step of suspending imports of its second best selling car the Opel-made Astra, sighting issues with currency fluctuations and commodity price issues.

The move means that no Holden-badged Astras will be imported in April or May and the decision could become permanent, depending on a company review of the situation.

Holden’s senior spokesman, Scott Whiffin, told CarAdvice, “The Astra range is currently under strategic review because of unfavourable exchange rate movements and commodity price increases.”

“Until the review process is complete we are not taking orders for the vehicle and we have cancelled our April and May allocation,” Mr Whiffin said.

He added that “it’s a great car but it’s got to make business sense for us.”

CarAdvice believes that Holden has put a stop on imports of the Astra while it conducts price negotiations with Opel, the European subsidiary of General Motors that manufactures the vehicles.

Because of the suspension of orders for the next two months no Astras will arrive in Australia in June or July and beyond that the decision could spell the end for the nameplate in Australia.

Dealer stocks are believed to already be restricted and Holden has said that the import suspension will mean that some colours and model variants are not available.

Holden is already struggling with declining sales and the decision would seem to be at odds with its plans to move more strongly into the small car market.

At the same time Holden will launch the Korean-built Cruze in the next two months and has committed to spend $450 million moving into production late next year of further models based on the same Delta platform as the Cruze is built on.

In Europe GM sells the Cruze under the Chevrolet brand and at the Astra as an Opel, with a more up-market positioning.

http://skyline The Salesman

So the transformation is almost complete. A full line up of Daewoo’s with lion badges. The general public still think all Holden’s are made in Australia. I actually had a customer tell me they bought a Barina over a Rio because the dealer told him it is Australian built.
NacaYoda

I guess the scrappage work hasn’t helped Opel in time. They obviously can’t (currently) afford to drop their prices to the Oz market yet, so they’re going to lose loads of sales.

It is these kinds of large scale decisions which is what will eventually kill companies due to the GFC.

Cancellations of Aussie utes to the US market, Opels to Oz, Chevs to Oz… these are big impact contracts that change lives.

Announcements like these reveal the industry is taking on water faster than I imagined.
RoFlmaTiC

“sighting issues” should be “citing issues”

Is it really the exchange rates and commodity prices and nothing to do with GM’s sale of Opel?
Frontman

Sorry Yoda, But the Australian monthly market is flat out trying to be a lunchtime market in places that make these decisions. If Opel stop selling the 4>500 Astra’s a month in Australia (at a loss) then that free up 4>500 for their domestic market where they can at least make a profit without interupting the production line to suit Astralia’s unique design rules.
Andrew M

Im more along the lines of thinking that this has more to do with the sale of Opel than the exchange rate.

The aussie dollar has actually risen lately, and also if its holdens second biggest seller surely they wouldnt have much of a problem with paying more for the Opel Astras.
Either that or lose the sales all together.
Every other imported vehicle (off the top of my head) has risen, why dont or cant holden????

I think the whole thing is in limbo because noone knows where they stand with this whole new Opel ownership thing.

Also i dont think GM will care too much about cutting ties with Opel because they became redundant quite a while ago when GM decided to focus their future on the Daewoo facility.
No secrets about that, the writing was on the wall ages ago, and part of GMs restructuring plan involves removing duplicate models

It is a shame, but certainly not a surprise
ZoomZoom

This is horrible news. Sounds like there may be more to this than we know. Could it be an effort to boost sales on the soon to be released cruze
Frenchie

I think the sale in the stake in Opel, Holden maybe hopes to renegotiate price.

Or worst total selloff of Opel.
Harley Stone

One day in the near future Holden will be nothing but a different badge put an a car by a Korean worker in a Korean car factory. Suggest to introduce a yearly Holden memorial day. Shame on GM/Holden “management”
MisterTwo

Astras haven’t been available for the past few weeks so the import suspension happened ages ago. There are no petrol models left and only a few Diesels build late last year.
Matt

How absolutely disgusting. I would love to watch Holden’s sales drop if the general public was aware that their vehicles are rebadged pieces of Korean junk. To hell with you Holden.
Alex

Nope, you guys aren’t getting that back. I wouldn’t hold your breath if your planning on buying an Insignia either. The end of good cars with the lion badge.
Glen

So holden gets rid of their 2nd best selling model for an unknown korean model when the other korean models flopped. Geez they must be getting a massive profit out of these daewoos because it just doesn’t make sense.

Funny how Ford has just started importing a brand new european made Fiesta and seem to be doing alright with it.
Alan

Guess that’s the end of holden badged opel in australia, i wonder if this is the best move, as i can’t see these rebadged daewoos competing with japanese and ford’s european rivals. These daewoo sourced cars are even worse than hyundai/kia, can’t understand why anyone would buy them.
Andrew M

Glen,
yes it is quite ironic how ford doesnt have the exchange rate as a barrier to prevent them from importing decent cars.

Yet another bit of reasoning to add to my previous theory
Shak

HAHAHAHAHA spam word: the company that stuffed everything up: DAEWOO. anyway this was the only other lion that i would consider as i am very strong Holden supporter. Come on Holden just raise the price a bit and try and flog them as run out deals till the new gen is feasible. I think their doing this to prepare for the cruze. although it isnt that bad in comparison: it has leather and a six speeder also has esp and ebd with 6 airbags. it might actually help Holden see the GFC through.
Graeme Barlow

This seems to have more than a little bit to do with whoever thinks that they might own Opel the month after next wondering about if or how they’re going to get paid for the cars that are shipped from now on.
Opel? Nothanks

Astra is a lemon…No Thanks…
Opel? Nothanks

I would rather buy Viva over Astra. Viva is much more reliable. It rides much better thanks to multi link suspension. It has bigger interior space and boot space. It has
almost identical engine as Astra’s..Most importantly it is much cheaper…Actually, Viva has induced much less warranty claims compared to Astra…..Astra is absolutely lemon…!!!!!!!!!… End of Story
renaldo

Opel?Nothanks
Are you on drugs???…A Korean Viva over a European designed Astra. Yes it’s cheaper but you get what you pay for…What about crash worthiness, ride, handling, build materials, galvanised body, NVH just to name a few. Cheap and NASTY……
Matt

hahah Opel?Nothanks sounds like he got burnt by a Viva purchase. If you were smart you wouldn’t have wasted money on a Viva and instead gotten a nice second hand Honda or Mitsubishi.
mack

who knows, with the departure of all Holden badged Opels and the company changing hands maybe the new owners of Opel will enter the Australian market and we’l see a whole range of European built cars? I’m no economic expert but if other companies are doing it why can’t they…
XR-2

V8 supercars are going to look interesting in 3 or 4 years time
topdog

Its pretty obvious there canning this car so thay can get everything ready for the new dawoe cruze,Thay think every one is stupid
o

if fiat buys opel i woulnt be supriesd if they launced opel over here tehy woudl sell so much, corsa,astra,meriva,insignia,zafira
phillip

Personally, I’ve always liked the look of the Astra but felt that they were nothing special to drive and poor in terms of ergonomics. All Opels are a little like this though: in Europe Opel is considered a bit like Seat – a company that builds reasonable and relatively cheap cars, but no range-toppers.

But who cares anyway? Most Holden buyers I know are so fiercely loyal to the brand they would never consider buying anything without the lion badge. Therefore, in the Astra’s absence I expect the Cruze to pick up most of the sales, whether it’s good or not.
AW

This was bound to happen. A sign of whats to come from GM and Holden.

I used to be a Holden supporter, and a strong Holden supporter at that. I wouldn’t even rent a Falcon. I no longer support Holden, whether it be through their rubbish Commodore, to their crappy Korean Barina, Viva, Captiva etc. That doesn’t mean I’ve switched sides, I’ve just stopped worrying about either companies. Ford at least has it right with the Focus, Fiesta and Mondeo, but Holden is going down the drain. Ford isn’t in a much better position, but they are more competitive in regards to mid size and small cars in relation to the Japanese and Euro brands.
Cupid Stunt

Some really stupid comments up there, XR-2 for starters. What relevance?

Not good news really but you’re not the only ones struggling with the Euro exchange rates. UK prices were 69pence per Euro now its 96p/per Euro. Thats a 40% increase and that’s bound to dent the European economy hard. I would reckon Holden have a decent chance of renegotiating but wouldn’t hold my breath.

When Opel split from GM (Can’t wait) theres every chance that an Australian importer can introduce these either as Opel or in agreement with Holden as a Holden. Either way you Folk will have to pay more for a decent product. No point comparing th price of an Astra with a Commie thats heavily subsidised by your Gov!!
Cupid Stunt

I have read that the Cruze is no match dynamically or in build quality as the Astra or otherwise. Pays your money taskes your choice.
Alan

whilst on the topic of cruze, sorry if it’s being printed already, but anyone has any idea about what sort of price they will be sold at? Would be priced like the Astra and compete against Focus/Corolla, or would it be priced lower and compete with i30 and Cerato?
Alan

btw, for anyone interested, here’s a review of cruze done by autocar

http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/FirstDrives/Chevrolet-Cruze-1.8-LT/238647/

quite promising if you ask me, seems like they are impressed by the interior quality of it, although i have noticed that autocar’s first drive tends to be very non critical and praise just about every car they drive. either way, seems like a real improvement over the previous daewoo junk.
phillip

Thanks for the link Alan. I especially like the part of the article that says “Nobody interested in the kind of sharpened responses offered by, say, a Ford Focus, would be entirely happy with the Cruze.”
Hmm…

Having a very good understanding of GM entities all around the world, it is the manufacturer who is responsible for exchange risk; purchase prices from other GM manufacturers are agreed in Australian dollars and therefore – changes in exchange rate is irrelevant. UNLESS, the prices are due for renegotiation and the other GM manufacturer is refusing to agree on the AUD price they want. My 2c
Alex

I have read reviews for the new Cruze that say it’s quite a good car but they all said that it still doesn’t beat the Focus and considering that they’ll be building the Focus in Australia pretty soon, why would you buy the Cruze? The Astra was a good contender for the Focus and Golf. the Cruze isn’t.
Wheelnut

I agree Andrew M – I think its abit weird that Holden use the exchange rate as the reason for no linger iporting Astras [just as they did the Barina] but ti doesn’t effect Ford with the Fiesta or Focus

I also think the reason for suspending the Astra has more to do with Opel wanting to break-away from GM – which is very imminent

I suspect that GM would want to keep the Corsa Astra and Insignia in their line up as given that they have significantly more “international appeal” than some US built cars..
Therefore; whilst GM still own Opel as well as the rights to their designs they could transfer production of the more popular Opels to GM factories in other countries.

Which gives more credibility to the rumour that
GM-Holden might have reversed the decision for Holden to build the Cruze and switch over to building the Insignia isntead as the [Astra based] Cruze is being built in Korea and China etc
Elitist

Mark my words,
The Holden sedan will be replaced by the Chinese Brilliance sedan in 2012.
This will copy the Buick and both feature fwd and all you holden Aussies will still find an excuse to buy it.
riceboy

boo…rather liked the astra range…
Why Oh’ Why

One reason for all this crap!

To many Asian cars here and everyone buys the stupid mass produced pieces of junk ,no one cares anymore they just want cheap made asian crap …

Yes I am an Astra Owner and if Holden do go bust I’ll just buy a VW Jetta ……..I’ll never buy an asian manafactured car ……
http://www.speedflux.com/ Diyan

I agree with you Elitist, we can’t avoid that Chinese brilliance sedan will come up soon.
Yianni

What a joke. Holden being cheap again.

If Ford can afford to bring the Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo from Europe and sell them at reasonable prices and make a profit then why cant Holden do it?

This is just a way to make more money by cutting out the Astra and selling the Cruze which is coming very soon. They’ll brainwash potential buyers by telling them the Cruze is better than the Astra and it’s a new model.

I’m done with Holden and would never recommend them to anyone. They’re shooting themselves in the foot and I hope they get what they deserve.
Jimbo

R.I.P. To the only car worth buying in the Holden line up.
Elitist

What shits me is the amount of Australians who are oblivious to the origins of some brands.

How many people here do not know the difference between the superiority of the Japanese compared to Korean or Chinese cars.
Luke

Remember a few years ago just before Ford started to import the Mondeo, a time when Holden was verbally attacking ford, saying that there decision to import models from Europe was a stupid idea blah blah blah… Well who are the one’s on there knee’s in the corner of a toilet cubicle now, ey Holden well done ! so all that’s left to do is replace the Commodore
atomicgreensv6

I think this is all a good idea by holden to dump astra its a great car but with the current economic climate the cruze makes more sense. Holden can know use the astra nameplate on its Aussie built small 4-cylinder due early next year. GM should use the method they use in the Uk clean up holdens image and make them sell agila, corsa, astra(aussie made hofeful called torana), Zafira, insigna, commodore and statesman/caprice, Introduce Chevrolet or another nameplate selling deawoo stuff: barina, viva, cruze, captiva, epica, colorado, camaro.
Dom

Having owned an Astra I can say it is a very good car, with excellent build quality and great standard features. Never had a fault. Shame to see it go for a Korean.
Hjalle

Stupid! The Astra is a great car. I think that they will be at a loss if they stop importing it. Plus i bet anyone would ratehr have an Astra insted of a Cruze.
T

ask someone who works for the RACQ ( racv ract etc )

what their opinion on this is.

this will put them out of work.

a friend has an astra and wondered why the racq guy gave her pitty the first time she called them.

now she realises why.

and hers is a 2004 model
T

i guess all the positive comments here come from people who have never owned an astra.

i guess you folk would love a car where u have to change the timing belt every 50 thousand kays, at around $500 or more?

good luck to anyone who owns one!
T

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=9365
Richard

Do any of you have any actual sale figures for the Focus, Mondeo, Fiesta? I think myou will find they are nt selling all that well
Alan

Richard, it is true they aren’t selling too well, which is a shame as they are great cars. Although the new Fiesta seems to be doing quite well, though have to wait for some facts and figures.

For those saying negative things about Astra, I just want to add that sure it is not a very reliable car compared to the Japanese offerings, but would you really take a Daewoo over an Opel? I guess we’re better off avoiding either, but if I have to make such a choice, I would take an Opel over a Daewoo.
Limited Slip

Another nail in Holdens coffin…….

Isnt the Viva discontinued now?
Chucky

Alan Says:
April 25th, 2009 at 11:01 pm

For those saying negative things about Astra, I just want to add that sure it is not a very reliable car compared to the Japanese offerings, but would you really take a Daewoo over an Opel? I guess we’re better off avoiding either, but if I have to make such a choice, I would take an Opel over a Daewoo.
———————————————————————————————————————-

If I had to choose between the two it would be Opel without a doubt. However, do not underestimate Daewoo. They will keep improving over time, and the Cruze and Captiva which were designed under GM ownership are quite decent. If I wanted a “reliable” car and had to choose between the two brands, then the Daewoo products would be significantly ahead.

Do not put Korean cars into the same bucket as Chinese cars. South Korea is a much more advanced country than Australia is and they have to pay their workers first world wages. So they have a very high potential for improvement.
philip

Richard, you can see a report on February’s VFACTS figures in the following link:
http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/3B32596261A01AF1CA25757100251014

A summary:
- The Fiesta is selling more and more each month, now that automatic versions are becoming available;
- The Focus is down on sales but still up there;
- The Mondeo is down with the industry average but clearly ahead of the considerably cheaper Epica.
Opel? Nothanks

Daewoo car are much more reliable than opel cars..It already has been proven…As I said before,. Viva have fewer issues than Astra..It is proven fact!!
Opel? Nothanks

Visit the below site..You will learn how bad Astra is..What a lemon…!!

http://www.motorsm.com/complaints/HOLDEN/default.asp?page=40..
Bane

The Focus is and will continue to be a far better car than either the Astra or Cruise. If you cant bring yourself to buy a “Fix Or Repair Daily”, then do yourself a favour and buy a new Mazsa 3 or Golf gen VI.

Agree that the Holden range is poorer with the loss of Astra, but does Holden actually have a car in their range that is universally declared “better than the opposition”? I cant think of one….
Opel? Nothanks

Astra is a lemon !!! the worst of the worst…

http://www.motorsm.com/complaints/category-posting.asp?cls=165
Wheelnut

Opel NoThanks – you say that Daewoos are more reliable and Vivas have less issues than Astras

Well of course they would particularly when you take into account the number of Astras sold compared to thre number of Vivas.. the ratio of Astras to Vivas on our road would be at least 5:1

Therefore; given that there are less Vivas on our road the sample is much samller. Whereas because there are substantially more Astras out there you are more likely to find one that has a problem oof some sort

Then of course it depends on whether or not you consider it to be a major or a minor problem

However having said that – when you look at the number of Astras that Holden have sold the number of Astras with a problem would be relatively small.. It’s all relative mate

Either way the fact that there are still so many Astras still driving around kind of dispels your theory
crouchy

It seems that talks to sell Opel may be progressing faster than we expected. To me this simply looks like a case of the ‘potential’ new owner say “stop selling them, you will no longer sell our cars”. Don’t be surprised if this new owner never brings this car back either..

I mean seriously, why would you?
Wal

Astra? A great car. Have had three of them. Great build quality, safety and reliability. Never a problem. And am about to update my car again…….but if Holden thinks I will even consider buying Korean rubbish, they have another thing coming.
JEKYL & HYDE

as many people have allready mentioned,it’s really not the exchange rate,lack of demand,or build quality thats stopping it coming in…what utter b.s. that is.

must hard for holden in the small-med car range right now.no viva.no astra.barina’s at 20 grand,when kia’s are 13 drive away.cruze’s not here so 2 or so months.break out the cards gents…
Shak

This car is not meant for those people who want a sporting drive from say something like a focus or current golf. It is the bargain basement basement car that Holden is giving us. It has good interior quality as most of the switchgear is from the Insignia. At the moment the world is money concious and the majority of customer would rather have a well equipped car and a safe one rather than one that goes around a corner fast.
http://www.ukmodifiednetwork.co.uk/forum/index.php Modified car club

Vauxhall and Holden Need To Sort There Problems Out.

If they dont they wont survive.
http://www.ukmodifiednetwork.co.uk/home.php Modified car club news

Another big manufdactiurer under fire in hard times !
tSi..

From April Holden is Daewoo, go and change your badge Holden… There are 3 korea brand in Australia now…..
Limited Slip

Well said TSi…………Holden easily have the worst range of cars in Australia, every one is at the bottom of its class…….including VE which is not even close to FG or aurion\camry. why do people buy this shit? wake up Australia.
SteveC

You can sit here and argue all you want about how good or crap the Astra is. But lets face it, what is Holden going to offer as a replacement in the same category? The alternatives are worse.

People will just start buying from a different manufacturer… that is… the people that care. The ones that don’t, won’t know better and still think they’re buying a Holden despite the fact that their car was made by a brand they probably think is rubbish.

These people will keep the brand alive. There are plenty of them.

Everyone else will move to other marquees. So be it. At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter to any of us. All that matters is that you make the right choice for yourself when you buy a car. Whether that means finding one with the badge depicting the actual manufacturer of the car, or the best fit, regardless of its origins. It’s really up to the consumer at the end of the day.

SteveC
Riker

I have said it many times before, i’ll say it again. ‘Holden, the largest Korean car company in Australia’. Sad, isn’t it……………………!

Never will a Lion badge be resting in my garage.
Marcus

I think you will find Holden will tune the Cruze’s suspension for local conditions, which is always better than Europes set-up.
Holden did this with the Astra and Vectra.
David

Jeez these Ford fanzies on here are try hards, pity, Ford can’t even sell ice to the eskimos….hahahahaha

If I wanted a Ford, I’d buy a Mazda…hahahahaha.
Ford dealer service is shiit !!!!!!!!
Cupid Stunt

Opel? Nothanks – Guess you like Korean cars then. Fool!
Opel? Nothanks

Vectra is a lemon too…

http://www.fastlane.com.au/News/Holden_Vectra_lemon.htm

“search resultsVectra dubbed a lemon – David takes on Goliath 27/1/00
Vectra dubbed a `lemon’ – David takes on Goliath. by Gary Warner … group from one Steve Keen, an obviously unhappy owner of a Holden Vectra “
Opel? Nothanks

“European and Australian cars consistently lag behind their Asian competitors in quality, according to confidential industry figures obtained by the Herald.

The figures confirm similar surveys overseas, which have shown that US- and European-built cars largely lag behind Korean and Japanese cars on quality.”

Extracted from Sydney Morning Herald

http://www.smh.com.au/news/new…..47562.html

Most of Australian have a misconception that European Brands are generally more reliable than Korean and Japanese brands…As I proved above, it is simply a myth..

As I mentioned several times, do not buy European made car, they are craps!! They are even worse than Daewoo in terms of quality..
Opel? Nothanks

http://westnet.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=39115
franz chong

That would be nice if everything Under Commodore,Statesman,Caprice and Ute was An Opel Again.
Me I plan to stick with Japanese Cars.You know what the worse part of buying a Volkswagen is?Having to take it to the same place to get it serviced as a Bentley or Jaguar
Byron

It would be sad if Holden Astra went. Its a really good looking car.I don’t see why Holden can’t just still sell it a a higer price. If a 25K Volkwagen Golf can make it into the top 20 best selling cars each month, why can’t Astra. I think just keep it in the range & see how buyers react. Or axe AH till all new-model arrives. Go HOLDEN!
Notafanboi

Here’s the thing, where do you reckon the BMW 320D series and Mercedes C class (some W204) are made? South Africa, along with the Ford Focus and some VWs. European quality? Only the name is european.

So, forget your preconceived ideas and *look* at what you are buying. Get in the car, twiddle every knob and lever, poke every panel, mess around with everything that moves. Then take it for a long drive – btw when the salesman starts giving you instructions “turn left here, turn right here”, ask him who is test driving the car? Accelerate hard, brake hard, corner fast – and yes warn the salesman you’re going to do so

The Cruze will be made in Australia from the 3rd quarter next year. For local jobs sake I hope it’s a good car, but I can tell you this much, try to buy one today and it’s a 4 month wait for a CDX because demand is very high right now.