Holden Cruze local production by 2011, says Devereux
Holden's managing director, Mike Devereux, has today announced that he expects to resume the second production shift at the brand's Adelaide plant in the coming months, including production of an Australian-built Holden Cruze.
Having recently taken the reigns from Alan Batey, who has been appointed Vice-President of Sales and Service for Chevrolet in the US, Mr Devereux has indicated that production of a four-cylinder model would be critical for the viability of the Elizabeth plant over the next decade.
Although reinstating the second shift is still some way off, as Holden is only planning to begin discussion on the idea next month.
"Given that the Cruze is the number five-selling car already in Australia - we sold over 2,500 units just last month - we're going to be building tens and tens of thousands of these cars so yeah we'll need a second shift," said Mike Devereux.
A specific date for the start of production of the locally-built Holden Cruze will be announced in the "not-too-distant future" according to Mr Devereux, although it is unlikely to begin until early next year.
The second shift at Holden's Elizabeth plant was cancelled last year as a result of the looming global financial crisis which saw sales drop to records lows, forcing Holden's parent company, General Motors, to file for bankruptcy.
Source: ABC News
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