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19/12/2010
By ALISTAIR KENNEDY
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Holden’s new chairman and general manager, Mike Devereux has created an air of optimism around the company that hasn’t been there in recent years.
The first, and most important, reason for this optimism is that coming off what the Holden CEO described as “the toughest 18 months in Holden’s history”, the company will report a profit for the first time in five years.
The improved financial position comes despite the continuing slide in Holden’s market share, expected to be around 13 per cent in 2010 - almost half what it was a decade ago. The improvement has been aided by the cost savings made by sourcing most of its models from South Korea instead of Europe, as had been the case previously.
Back in 2004 each of Holden’s three smaller passenger vehicles, Barina, Astra and Vectra, were all re-badged Opel products, while its light commercial Jackaroo and Rodeo models came from Isuzu, another General motors affiliate.
In 2010 all but the Rodeo replacement, Colorado, are now being sourced from GM Daewoo in South Korea with the Barina, Cruze and Epica passenger cars, and the Captiva SUV, all performing reasonably well on the Australian market.
In an interesting twist it seems likely that Opel will return to Australia next year but this time under its own nameplate rather than Holden’s. Mike Devereux confirmed that talks were taking place with Opel and that a decision would be made shortly. If Opel does come here then it’s likely that it will be positioned in a market segment above the budget-priced Daewoo-sourced models where they would compete against fellow German marques such as Volkswagen.
Holden has previously been in a similar position with Saab, although the Swedish car maker was in serious decline at the time, and the relationship finished when General Motors sold its former subsidiary in mid-2009.
Perhaps the most exciting news, both for Holden and the South Australian economy, is the upcoming commencement of local production of the Cruze at the company’s Elizabeth plant. Although production won’t commence until early next year Holden has already reinstated the afternoon shift that had been cancelled six months previously.
Cruze is likely to become one of the big players on the Australian car scene with a hatchback version due to join the current sedan in late 2011 and with the engine choice expected to be expanded to include diesel and twin-turbo units.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that, despite a continuing decline in demand for large six-cylinder passenger cars, 2010 will see Holden Commodore chalk up its 15th straight year as Australia’s top selling car. Mike Devereux outlined plans for Holden to produce a dedicated LPG Commodore and for a major push to attract private sales.
So, all in all, an interesting year ahead for GM Holden. |
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