Rumorpile: Next-Generation Camaro To Head Down Under

[William Maley]

The departure of the current Holden Commodore means Australians will not get their fill of V8 muscle. But it seems help could be on the way from America.

A new report from Wheels says the Camaro will be heading down under to give the Ford Mustang some much needed competition. But don't expect to see the current Camaro make the trip. Wheels says it will be the next-generation model due in 2021 that will do battle. This is due to the engineering work needed to do a right-hand drive version. 

We know that that the Camaro team has been watching the Australian marketplace since the Mustang went on sale to see how it would do. Since the Mustang was introduced in Australia last year, 6,000 models have been sold. This is likely one of the key reasons GM decided to go forward with these plans.

It should be noted there is a fail-safe to these plans. If the Australian market loses interest in rear-drive, V8 muscle cars, GM can pull the plug on this project as late as 2019.

Source: Wheels

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[G. David Felt]

Interesting, but as I love the Skyline of old with the Right side driving, why would Aussies not like a left hand Camaro that is different than all the right hand sided driving machines?

[aurora97]

Will they call it a Camaro or will it be the return of the Monaro for Holden?  Kind of like how the Monaro was the return of the GTO over ten years ago.....

[hyperv6]

1 hour ago, dfelt said:

Interesting, but as I love the Skyline of old with the Right side driving, why would Aussies not like a left hand Camaro that is different than all the right hand sided driving machines?

It is not legal to own and drive a LHD car for more than a short time and you must display a large sticker on the rear bumper a sign that shows you are on the wrong side. 

That is why they go to such expense to convert the cars to RHD. 

Now I have some customers in Surfers Paradise and some of the other more remote western cities that have American Muscle cars that are still LHD. I asked how they get away with it. He said where they are at they just choose not to in force the rule as they do in the east. In the east it is a major pain. 

I suspect it will be a Camaro. They discussed that in recent years that if they made the move they would retain the name. 

[daves87rs]

As much as I like this, I miss those sedans.......

[riviera74]

A RHD Camaro sounds great for down under.  Now if only we can make a sedan version to replace the recently departed SS. . . . .

[Robert Hall]

I wonder how much demand there is in Oz has for such a car, though...hasn't the Australian market moved on to be dominated by appliances like Civics and Camrys and CUVs like other markets?

[William Maley]

2 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

I wonder how much demand there is in Oz has for such a car, though...hasn't the Australian market moved on to be dominated by appliances like Civics and Camrys and CUVs like other markets?

 

Here is the 15 best selling models in Australia for February via CarAdvice: 

TOP-SELLING MODELS FOR FEBRUARY 2017	SALES
Toyota Corolla	3392
Toyota HiLux	3386
Mazda 3	3143
Ford Ranger	2931
Hyundai i30	2003
Mitsubishi Triton	1990
Mazda CX-5 (SUV)	1933
Toyota RAV4 (SUV)	1726
Hyundai Tucson (SUV)	1596
Holden Commodore	1566
Kia Cerato	1513
Nissan X-Trail (SUV)	1500
Toyota Camry	1473
Mazda CX-3 (SUV)	1468
Toyota Prado (SUV)	1320

It's mostly utes and SUVs (with the odd compact here and there) thrown in. I think GM is thinking of only selling a small number of Camaros to begin with and then increase if there is more demand for it.

[G. David Felt]

Bringing the full family of trucks, CUVs, SUVs and cars to Aussie as rebadge Holdens should help GM move up on this list and sell more I think. 

[hyperv6]

On ‎3‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 11:11 AM, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

I wonder how much demand there is in Oz has for such a car, though...hasn't the Australian market moved on to be dominated by appliances like Civics and Camrys and CUVs like other markets?

That is what I have been saying for a long time but the die hard Aussie Holden fans will never admit.

The RWD sedan sales have been on a long term decline and GM was the last real hold out in their market.

I think there would be a market for the Camaro as it is something they really like.

But keep in mind to keep the Camaro alive it will require global sales as you are not going to sell 100K units in N America anymore and it will need a global market to keep the name plate alive. Ford is doing the same.

Both cars just are not moving cheaper 4 cylinder models in numbers they really would like and they will need to spread out production of the V8.

The Mazda 3 is king down under over the last so many years and that is what Holden needs to target along with the Toyota.

The reality is the global market is no longer an enthusiast market as it has gone all utility because of cost and usability.

People what cars that will do all they want and cars that they can afford. It used to be you just had to pick the number of doors and how big the V8 but that has all changed.

Watch as all GM cars will also go RHD optional. as they will need it with Holden and other RHD markets.