Holden export information from GoAuto

[ringram]

GM HOLDEN could be headed behind the “Iron
Curtain” as part of its aggressive export strategy
for the new-generation VE Commodore and WM
Statesman and Caprice.
Building on its success in the Middle East and
South America, the Australian arm of General
Motors is targeting the cashed-up top
end of the Russian car market as the
next opportunity to show its expertise to
the world.
Holden’s director of engineering
Tony Hyde confirmed exclusively
to GoAuto that he would personally
investigate the possibility of exporting
the WM Statesman to Russia as a direct
replacement for the Chevrolet Caprice –
the US-built large sedan that was discontinued in
the mid-1990s and opened the door for Holden’s
successful foray into the Middle East.
“We got into the Middle East on the basis that GM
in the USA stopped making the Chevrolet Caprice,”
Mr Hyde told GoAuto last week. “At the same time,
the Caprice was also being sold in Russia, especially
around the Moscow area, and was doing reasonably
well. It is interesting that they always bought the
Caprice when it was available and that has always
stuck in my mind.
“We have never, from a corporate
point of view, gone in and thought about
what we could do about taking over that
slice of business. I am confident the WM
(Statesman) has the attributes that market
demands, so I’ll go back and see if I am
blowing smoke or not … that will be a
little project of mine over the next three
months to stir up some attention.”
Mr Hyde will work together with
Holden’s product planning chief Ian McCleave to
build a viable business case and present it to GM
through its Russian offices.
“Some of this stuff we have never done before,
but we’ve been in that same boat with the Middle
East and succeeded,” Mr Hyde said. “I don’t see
any reason why we couldn’t give this a go.”
The world’s largest country, Russia has a
population of more than 150 million people and
is currently experiencing a boom in middle- and
upper-class prosperity, making it a prime market
for the long-wheelbase Holden vehicles.
Beyond Russia, Mr Hyde has also not discounted
the possibility of exporting a limited batch of
Commodores to continental Europe in the future.
The tougher pedestrian safety regulations
and the high price of regular fuels in the major
European markets are the most obvious hurdles
Mr Hyde said Holden faces.
But, in the wake of Holden Special Vehicles’
Vauxhall VX-R program, he said it may not be such
a tough ask to export a small run of its premium
models, such as the Commodore SS V, Calais and
long-wheelbase Statesman and Caprice.
“We have looked at Europe before, and
pedestrian protection regulations may restrict us to
only being able to export 2500 Commodores over
there,” he said. “But 2500 Commodores is almost a
full week’s production for us. That’s not hard to do,
and certainly not an arduous task to sell that many
cars to the total population over there.”
The European experiment is likely to come
at the expense of Holden’s export program to
Russia’s southern neighbour – and the world’s
most-populated country – China.