As Holden transitions from a local manufacturer to importer, this brings up the concern of what kind of vehicles will be available to brand. Previously, Holden had a limited choice of vehicles to choose from due to the requirement of being right-hand drive. But now, General Motors is promising a larger selection of vehicles for Holden to choose from. This could open the door for various models from the U.S. and other countries.
This change comes down to GM's vehicle architectures becoming more flexible and used globally, along with a new way of thinking as GM's design boss Mike Simcoe explained,
“Where we see there’s a need to have right-hand drive, yeah. We’ll have the ability to make a choice but the architecture will accommodate left- and right-hand drive”
“The reality is as we reduce the total number of architectures they are going to be more global. We don’t design a vehicle specifically for North America anymore, because you always get caught out if you do. The numbers of those is reducing,” Simcoe went on to say.
A key example is the GMC Acadia heading down to Australia as a Holden - due in 2018.
That doesn't mean Holden will be able to pick any model they want freely. They still have to make a business case as to why they need a particular model.
"I think it is looking at what are the global applications because in certain vehicles, like Camaro, there would be markets outside Australia and New Zealand, and understanding looking through it a lens of; does this make business sense? Does this make customer sense? Is it the right thing to do from a competitive perspective? So it's really a mix of variables that we take into account," said Lowell Paddock, head of product planning for General Motors International.
Source: Drive.com.au, Wheels
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