For an example………….the GMC Sierra is a bloody rebadged Chevrolet Silverado!!!!!!!!!!!! And there both sold in the same country.

Pretty silly in my opinion. Anybody agree?

What Im getting at is they are only displaying a turnover figure and not the profit figure.
The turnover figure is useless in deciding how much this decision will affect holden.

What I do know is holden arent making too much profit (the figure that counts) on their exports.

As you rightly pointed out the article you referenced makes no mention of the profit figure and therefore is really useless and makes its claim based on nothing

RoFlmaTiC,
The article isnt that clear cut, I agree, but i highly doubt holden get 35K for each car. Isnt that what they are selling them for in the states???
Also the currency isnt quoted.
Im guessing those quoting 1 bill are quoting a round US dollar and those quoting 750mill are using a rounded aussie dollar.

“After a day of worker protests across Europe at various General Motors plants, news comes today from Carl-Peter Foster (above), head of GM Europe, that Opel is planning to reorganize itself as a joint-stock company. GM would basically give up between 25-50 percent of its stake in the spun off company, with the hope that outside investors would make up the rest. The reorg would also likely include concessions by workers for lower pay as well as a restructuring plan to lower operating costs. The main obstacle to separating Opel from GM in the past has been the degree to which the two are intertwined, but a joint-stock company in which GM remains the largest shareholder allows the two to operate as closely as ever while severing some of those ties that bind. It may also set the stage for a detangling of Opel’s models from GM’s product portfolio over time, which would facilitate the outright separation of the brand from its parent company in the future.”

GM helped Opel fund the design research development and tooling etc of their cars – they decide which company builds what type of car and where they are built.

Therefore; GM can decide to make Holden or Daewoo etc build cars that look similar if not exactly the same to the current range of Opels or even some of the future models.. and there is absolutely nothing that the prospective buyer of Opel would be able to do about it.

Almost certainly a term of the sale of Opel would be that Opel retains the IP in relation to the cars that it makes. If this wasn’t the situation, they will not be able to find a buyer, it’s as simple as that.

BM, I think the article that you quoted is poorly worded too. It really should read “Holden stands to lose 1 billion dollars in revenue”. Say holden gets 35000 AUD for producing each car, multiply this by 30000 cars a year and there is your billion dollars in lost revenue.

The impact on profits on the other hand won’t be anywhere near a billion.

Aaaahhh Bob Lutz didn’t force Holden to do anything..
He merely suggested that GM use the Holden Monaro as the new Pontiac GTO because he was impressed with what Holden could do in such a short time and with limited resources.. particularly in terms of design quality and performance.

Then when the VE project was approved Lutz said that the VE should become the New Pontiac G8
Then there was the TT-36 Torana [concept] which he wanted to be the New Pontiac G6

You see if it wasn’t for Lutzy GM would never have realised Holdens ability or their potential mainly because of Waggoners arrogance and narrow-mindedness etc

The main problem was is that Pontiac has been on “life support” since the mid 90’s – that is very few American car enthusiasts regarded it as a “performance” brand it was more of an “entry level” brand which meant that a car like the GTO or the G8 didn’t really go with other cars in the Pontiac line up.
The [Monaro and the] Commodore should have been badged as a Chevrolet .. which is what I suspect will happen anyway.

That’s in the USA.. Just because they didn’t mention Holden doesn’t mean that Holden aren’t a part of GMs Future Plans – which they are..

Because In GMs initial statement [which they made last year] as to what they intend to do as part of their restructuring They said that they will be Holden onto Buick Chvrolet Cadillac Pontiac and Holden.

Now given that they have since made a statement with more recent changes: the main one being that Pontiac is no longer a part of their plans
If they intend to get rid of Holden – don’t you think that a similar statement specifically mentioning Holden

Let me remind you that there have been recent reports that Opel is intent on breaking away from GM

Now given that GM own the intellectual property [copyrights and trademarks etc] in relation to everything Opel has done since they obtained 100% ownership of Opel [just as they do with Holden];
Don’t be surprised if GM decide to transfer production [including tooling] of Opels to other facilities.

This could mean that Holden could end up building the Insignia [instead of the Cruze] whilst Daewoo build the Astra Corsa etc which they continue to export to Europe and the USA as Opels so that GM maintains a presence in the European market.

Then there’s the likelihood of The VE Commodore being re-badged as the new Chevy Impala.. it makes sense given that it uses a Chevy engine.. not to mention that the WM Statesman Caprice is sold as a Chevrolet.

Report ” US loss to cost Holden $1bn a year
Article from: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
Carly Crawford
April 26, 2009 12:00am

EMBATTLED carmaker Holden stands to lose up to $1 billion a year when its ailing United States parent dumps major brand Pontiac.

General Motors is this week expected to announce plans to ditch or sell the brand as it desperately works to stave off bankruptcy.

That means the maker of Australia’s most popular car could be in for more pain.

Holden had been banking on exporting 30,000 VE Commodores each year to the US, where the model is sold as the high-performance Pontiac G8.

VE Commodore exports began last year in a deal worth about $1 billion a year.

Holden builds the left-hand drive VE Commodore – with help from a $6.7 million Federal Government loan – at its plant in Elizabeth, South Australia.

The company spent $77 million preparing the plant for the vehicle’s production, hailing the project as the future of the Elizabeth plant.

The deal was expected to lift Holden exports to 70,000 a year – half its total production.

Although the car was well-received by US auto critics, the world economic crisis meant the G8, which retails for $A53,000 in North America, has failed to achieve strong sales.

Only about half the 25,000 G8s delivered to the US have been sold.

Holden, which has not made a profit since 2004, had hoped VE Commodore exports would reach up to 50,000 a year.

It is Holden’s second blow this year over Pontiac’s demise.

In January, Pontiac shelved plans to import a G8 ute from Australia as its performance sports truck.

Now as one of the other guys said on the Forum the numbers dont add up

quote ” So a loss of $1bn on 70 000 vehicles.

Thats $14k a car. If they were targetting say 20% gross on each car @ $53k = $10.6k. So, according to the writer they are going to lose $24.6K in revenue per car….. I don’t think so…. off to school Carly Crawford.

“According to Henderson, Pontiac’s relationship with Holden – GM’s Australian subsidiary and maker of the G8 – will end by the end of 2009. Henderson said production of the Pontiac G8 will wind down by the end of the year, with the automaker prepared to offer heavy incentives to get the performance sedan off dealer lots. News AU estimates the end of the Pontiac G8 will cost Holden more than $750 million in lost revenue.”

I have not said anything about profit or loss, nor do I believe does the article. Have a look at leftlanenews.com and work it out for yourself ;)