Holden has killed off the Commodore

Tuesday, 10 December 2019

Watch and listen: a bit of a sound-off between the old Holden Commodore SS-V Redline V8 and the new VXR V6.

In what is a drastic move to secure its future, Holden has announced it has 'modified' its portfolio to an exclusive SUV and ute line up.

In English, that means the Commodore is finally dead.

'Holden is taking this decisive action to ensure a sharp focus on the largest and most buoyant market segments,' said Holden Australia's Interim Chairman and Managing Director, Kristian Aquilina.

The current Commodore line up featured FWD, AWD, petrol, diesel, sedan, wagon and high-riding faux-SUV options.

Which is, of course, SUVs and utes, with Aquilina saying that sales of all of Holden's entrants in both segments are up across the board.

**READ MORE:

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Original VB Commodore was based on a German Opel. Sound familiar?

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'In New Zealand year to date, all Holden LCV (light commercial vehicle) and SUV models have registered substantial growth… sales of Colorado are up 3 per cent, Trax is up 24 per cent, Equinox has increased 46 per cent and Trailblazer is up more than 60 per cent.'

The VF may have been the last Aussie Commodore, but the ZB is the last over all.

Of course, the same can't be said of traditional passenger cars - while the large car segment accounted for 10 per cent of the total new car sales market a decade ago, it is a meagre 1.7 per cent today following buyer's shift in preference towards SUVs.

This means that the ZB Commodore and BK Astra will be retired in 2020, bringing an end to two long-running nameplates in the local market.

Along with the Commodore, the Astra is for the chop from the local line up.

While the Astra has come and gone over the years, the Commodore has been a mainstay of the Australian company's line up since its debut in 1978.

The large sedan switched from Australian manufacture and a RWD layout to being a fully-imported FWD/AWD car based on the Opel Insignia last year, a move that upset hardcore fans and only accelerated the sales freefall it had been experiencing in the face of the SUV onslaught.

'The decision to retire the Commodore nameplate has not been taken lightly by those who understand and acknowledge its proud heritage,' said Aquilina.

'The large sedan was the cornerstone of Australian and New Zealand roads for decades. But now with more choice than ever before, customers are displaying a strong preference for the high driving position, functionality and versatility of SUVs and LCVs.

'The SUV and LCV segments are where the action is and that's where we are going to play.'

The drastic decision comes hard on the heels of the news last week that Holden Australia's former chairman and managing director, Dave Buttner, was resigning after the shortest run at the top in the company's 71-year history.

Buttner had been in the job just 16 months before his shock resignation on the back of the company's lowest sales since it was formed in 1948.

The former Toyota executive had come out of retirement and had vowed to turn the company around after the shutdown of local manufacturing.

Holden faired far better in New Zealand following the end of Australian manufacturing, a result that saw Aquilina - at the time Holden NZ's managing director - called over the ditch along with Holden NZ's marketing manager, Marnie Samphier, in an attempt to mirror kiwi results.

Following Buttner's resignation last week, Aquilina was announced as interim chairman and managing director.

While Holden Australia is going SUV/LCV only, there is a caveat to that - the RHD production version of the mid-engined Corvette will still be coming to both Australia and New Zealand - although it will be badged as a Chevrolet, rather than a Holden.

However, there will still be one last Holden-badged passenger car left in the world that you can buy, but only in New Zealand, because the Spark will continue to be a part of the local line up for the forseeable future.