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Holden Special Vehicles says it’s “business as usual” as it negotiates with General Motors to establish GMSV

Holden Special Vehicles says it is “business as usual” as US car giant General Motors negotiates the shutdown of Holden dealers across the country following the shock closure of the brand.


As the company prepares to launch its latest model, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 pick-up (pictured below), early indications are that Holden’s performance-car partner HSV will continue to operate in Australia but under a new name: General Motors Specialised Vehicles (GMSV).

A statement from HSV to CarAdvice said: “For us right now the immediate future is business as usual, as evidenced by the imminent introduction of the Chevrolet Silverado 1500. We continue to work closely with Holden and General Motors to best realise the ongoing opportunity in the niche speciality market in Australia.”

 

Drive

Contrary to popular belief, Holden Special Vehicles is a separate company to Holden, even though the vehicles are sold through the same dealerships. 

Among Holden’s network of approximately 200 showrooms across the country, 65 currently sell Holden Special Vehicles models such as the HSV Colorado SportsCat ute, Chevrolet Camaro muscle car, and Chevrolet Silverado pick-ups.

While the HSV Colorado SportsCat (pictured below) will be phased out in the coming months with the exit of Holden – and discounts are yet to be announced – HSV is likely to continue its local conversion business.

 

Drive

Currently, HSV remanufactures to original factory standards Camaro muscle cars and Silverado pick-ups from left- to right-hand-drive at its facility in Melbourne. The Ram 1500 and 2500 pick-ups are also converted to right-hand-drive under the same roof by the Walkinshaw Automotive Group, HSV's parent company.

Under the proposed GMSV name, the brand could expand its portfolio to include other Chevrolet models such as the Tahoe and Suburban large SUVs, which share many of the same components required for the conversion of the Silverado pick-up. 

Eventually, the GMSV line-up could also include niche models from Hummer and Cadillac, however these plans are far from confirmed and years away from being a possibility. 

In the coming weeks HSV is due to roll out its latest model, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ (pictured below), across its national dealer network with a starting price expected to dip under $110,000 before on-road costs.

HSV is hosting a media preview of the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 in Melbourne today; we will publish drive impressions when the embargo lifts next week. In the meantime, here is everything we know so far about the new model.

 

Drive

For now, the entire HSV line-up – including the HSV Colorado SportsCat, Chevrolet Camaro SS, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Chevrolet Silverado 2500 pick-up and the new Chevrolet Silverado 1500 pick-up – will continue to be sold through HSV-appointed Holden dealers.

Once the Holden closure is finalised, Drive understands that if HSV’s negotiations with General Motors in Detroit are successful, new dealers will be appointed to sell vehicles under the GMSV name. 

However it is unclear how many of those will be existing Holden or HSV dealers, and if the network will shrink in size from its current tally of 65 showrooms. 

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Joshua Dowling

Joshua Dowling has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years, spending most of that time working for The Sydney Morning Herald (as motoring editor and one of the early members of the Drive team) and News Corp Australia. He joined CarAdvice / Drive in 2018, and has been a World Car of the Year judge for more than 10 years.

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