Where is Holden going?

Holden's new Commodore has struggled to find an audience in Australia, but should it be replaced by a Cadillac?

Once a dominant force in Australia's automotive landscape, Holden has since fallen out of favor with many buyers following the end of local car production in 2017.

In the first seven months of the year, Holden counted 27,783 new sales, down 24.0% from the same period last year.

The most obvious reason for Holden's significant drop in sales is the replacement of its Commodore from an Australian rear wheel drive big car with a rebadged imported Opel Insignia.

In its first month of sales in February 2018, the new Commodore scored just 737 new registrations, less than half of the nameplate sales in the same month (1566) the previous year.

A year and a half after launch, Commodore sales have yet to take off, with 3711 sales averaging about 530 units a month through the end of July.

However, since then, Holden has also discontinued low-selling models such as the Barina, Spark and Astra station wagon, and the popular Astra sedan was discontinued earlier this year, also impacting the brand's market share.

As such, Holden's best-selling model is currently the Colorado pickup, with combined 4x2 and 4x4 sales this year of 11,013 units, over a third of the total and showing solid results compared to last year's 11,065. sales for the same period.

The Colorado is currently the top selling model in the Holden lineup.

Despite topping Holden's sales charts, the Colorado is still trailing segment leaders like the Toyota HiLux (29,491), Ford Ranger (24,554) and Mitsubishi Triton (14,281) in year-to-date sales.

Meanwhile, the Equinox crossover has also failed to catch on in the booming mid-size SUV segment, despite sales up 16.2% this year.

As for the rest of the lineup, the Astra subcompact, Trax crossover, Acadia large SUV and Trailblazer achieved 3252, 2954, 1694 and 1522 sales respectively.

In the future, Holden will lose access to Opel-made models such as the current Commodore and Astra, and General Motors (GM) will transfer the German brand, along with Vauxhall, to the French PSA group.

This means that Holden is expected to turn to its American cousins ​​- Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC - to expand its lineup.

In fact, the influx of models in the US has already begun: Equinox is Chevrolet, and Acadia is GMC.

What matters, however, is that both models, as well as the Commodore, have been tuned for Australian roads before hitting local showrooms to ensure optimal ride and comfort.

While Hyundai and Kia - and to some extent Mazda - are also customizing suspension settings for Australian roads, this customization could be a huge boon for Holden as it aims to climb the sales charts.

Holden could also dive back into the Chevrolet portfolio to get his hands on the Blazer, which could be a stylish alternative to the Acadia's large SUV.

The Blazer may join the Acadia and Equinox showrooms in Holden.

The Blazer will also bring a level of style cohesion to Holden's lineup, with a sleeker aesthetic more in line with the Equinox than the massive Acadia.

The long-awaited introduction of the Cadillac brand could also give Holden a luxury alternative to cars like the Lexus and Infiniti.

In fact, the CT5 is already in Australia as Holden conducts powertrain and emissions testing for the upcoming model.

The CT5 could also fill the gap left by Commodore, allowing Holden to finally drop the nameplate after it first debuted in 1978.

With a rear-wheel drive layout, large sedan dimensions and performance options on offer, the Cadillac CT5 could be the spiritual successor that Holden's devotees have dreamed of.

A Cadillac CT5 was seen driving around Melbourne in significant camouflage.

It could also open the door to more Cadillac products in Australia, as the brand was poised to launch Down Under before the global financial crisis derailed GM's plans 10 years ago.

As for high-performance models, Holden has already confirmed that the new Chevrolet Corvette will be offered in factory right-hand drive either late next year or early 2021.

The Corvette will sit alongside the Camaro, which was imported and right-hand drive converted by Holden Special Vehicles (HSV), with both dropping any Holden badges.

While many note that this opens up the possibility of dropping the Holden name in favor of Chevrolet, it is also likely that Holden chose to keep both versions in their American forms due to the strong marketing potential and heritage of the Corvette and Camaro.

Notably, HSV is also converting a Silverado full-size pickup truck for local consumption.

Finally, Bolt's all-electric crossover could also give the brand a boost in alternative powertrains as the industry moves towards emissions-free vehicles.

GM also operates a design studio at Holden's office in Melbourne, which is one of the few facilities in the world that can take a concept from inception to physical form, while the Lang Lang proving ground and new vehicle advanced development division will retain local staff. busy.

Whatever the future of Holden, there are certainly bright spots on the horizon for a respected brand that is in danger of falling out of the top 10 brands for the first time.