The dust is far from settled after General Motor’s announcement that Holden, its Australian subsidiary, will cease production of vehicles by 2017. In an attempt to save the brand, Holden will be limited to selling imported, rebadged GM models, most likely Chevrolet. But the news has not been well received.
Mike Devereux, departing Holden boss, assured that Holden will continue and that its future is secured.
“Holden is one of the most valuable brands in Australia. We are committed to the brand for the long term. The brand is going to be a part of the fabric of this country for a very long time,” Devereux said in a recent interview.
Some executives from GM believe that shelving the Holden marque altogether and replacing it with Chevrolet branding would make more sense rather than selling rebadged products as Holdens.
“There will now be the biggest fight ever to save the Holden brand from being shelved,” a Holden employee said. “Now that (Holden) won’t be making cars and there won’t be anything unique about the vehicles, the debate is going to come up again and it will be hard to win.”
The fact that Holden is unable to match Chevrolet when it comes to receiving dollars for marketing and ads from GM, the unnamed employee might be right.
“There is no emotion in this. It will all come down to money. If General Motors thinks sales will go down because the Holden brand is on the nose, then they will switch it to Chevrolet,” an insider said.
– Charlen Raymond
