Holden's Future in Doubt

[RACECAR]

THE decision to close Holden's manufacturing operations could happen as early as December, the Shadow Industry Minister Kim Carr has warned.

Link

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Okay if that's true...I'd like to know more of why. Beyond reading the link

 

[Tornado]

Probably because at this point there's barely any reason for it to exist, just like with Ford Australia.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Probably because at this point there's barely any reason for it to exist, just like with Ford Australia.

Yeah I figured as much it's quite sad no the less.

 

[RACECAR]

Okay if that's true...I'd like to know more of why. Beyond reading the link

I honestly cannot find another article that talks about this like that link does so that's about all I can find.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

I honestly cannot find another article that talks about this like that link does so that's about all I can find.

Yeah I looked myself as well and couldn't find anything. I guess GM is in the business of cost cutting now when they need to if it ends up being true. I know sales for this and Ford are horrid. I just hope Aussie V8 supercars doesn't become the losing end.

 

[RDF97]

I just hope for the best for the Australian car industry. Having realised we were on the slide I had to have second thoughts on becoming involved in the automotive industry myself. It's a shame. I just wish the best for Holden.

 

[Grayfox]

Australia has no car industry,

Well what cars do holden really make these days?

Holden Barina Spark is a Daewoo Matiz
Holden Barina is a Chevy Aveo
Holden Cruze is a Daewoo Lacetti
Holden Volt is a Chevrolet Volt
Holden Malibu is a Chevrolet Malibu
Holden Colorado is an Isuzu D-Max
Holden Captiva 5 is a Opel Antara
Holden Captiva 7 is a Chevrolet Captiva
Holden Combovan is a Cpel Combo

The only 3 cars that are made by holden are the Commodore Sedan, The Commodore Ute, and the Carprice

I am quite sick and tired of seeing tax payer dollars going to a company that is going belly up.

No one wants big V6s daily cars no more.

 

[Hayden]

As the marketing will tell you grayfox, the Cruze is the only small car made in Australia and they still make Commodore wagons. Other than that, you are correct.

 

[Wolfman2216]

What do you think of GM Holden to end, but to revive Pontiac ...?

 

[Grayfox]

As the marketing will tell you grayfox, the Cruze is the only small car made in Australia and they still make Commodore wagons. Other than that, you are correct.

I have not seen any wagons, in know they made them, just have not seen any lately.
But Commodore, Caprice are the 2 that they make.

I will only believe that holden make a cruze in Australia when i see that cars VIN number.

 

[Hayden]

This is about as close as I could find, I hope it's enough. If you dig around this site you'll see the Cruze wagon is made in South Korea while both the hatch and sedan are made here.
Vin car history

And here's Holden's website which displays the marketing that I mentioned earlier...
Built here, made exciting

 

[YSSMAN]

Well, outside of the AU market Commodores and Caprices, the only other market they're really exporting to is the US, and (as I understand it) is in the low-mid 1000s for our Chevrolet SS and PPV models. Furthermore, the major problem is that GM is apparently fully prepared to shift production of both vehicles to the US or Canada by the end of the decade. It seems to be that, more or less, it's not a matter of if, but when.

I would still expect Holden to be a development house for global models, and I would still expect Holden to offer a rear-drive sedan that'd probably be built in North America and have it shipped over. Simply put, Zeta is on it's last legs, an Alpha car would be more fuel friendly, and thus, more competitive.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Well, outside of the AU market Commodores and Caprices, the only other market they're really exporting to is the US, and (as I understand it) is in the low-mid 1000s for our Chevrolet SS and PPV models. Furthermore, the major problem is that GM is apparently fully prepared to shift production of both vehicles to the US or Canada by the end of the decade. It seems to be that, more or less, it's not a matter of if, but when.

I would still expect Holden to be a development house for global models, and I would still expect Holden to offer a rear-drive sedan that'd probably be built in North America and have it shipped over. Simply put, Zeta is on it's last legs, an Alpha car would be more fuel friendly, and thus, more competitive.

Well and GM is losing money too by having these guys around, which we shouldn't forget either.

 

[YSSMAN]

Right, and the same can be said with Opel in Europe. Overall, GM has to weigh their commitment to a market that is losing them money, while at the same time, having a significant opportunity for profit once the economy has stabilized. Not long ago, GM Europe was very profitable, and I see no reason why it couldn't be again.

What it really comes down to, more than anything, is that GM still isn't operating as a single corporation. There are still far too many single market models, powertrains, and platforms - and it's killing profitability. Until their vehicle lineup is as streamlined as Ford's, I don't see Opel or Holden being as strong as they could be.

But even then, that ignores a major problem: It's cost prohibitive for them to produce vehicles in Australia. Poor sales, high wages, and non competitive vehicles don't make a ton of sense. Worse yet, most of their competitors can build their models in Thailand or [INSERT SE ASIAN COUNTRY] for next-to-nothing, and import them without a tariff. Of course the profit margins are out of whack.

If GM wants to make Holden production last in Australia, I'd think that producing their own version of a Alpha, Delta or Gamma car would be in order, ASAP.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Well let's remember that the cash cow over there is China so GM has that too, why would they need Aussie-ville?