Future Holden vehicle manufacturing will be heading to Europe after executive vice president and president of GM Europe, Karl-Thomas Neumann, announced at the opening of the Paris Auto Show that over one-third of the brand’s future models will be built under the Opel badge.
“I’m very excited about the role our great products will play in the resurgence of the Holden brand, by being able to provide more than one-third of Holden’s future product line-up,” Neumann says.
“Spearheaded by Opel’s DRIVE! 2022 strategy, we are making significant investments in new models, engines, transmissions and testing facilities to ensure we deliver truly world class products to our export markets like Australia,” Neumann adds.
Holden’s chairman and managing director, Gerry Dorizas, confirms the decision, stating the three European-sourced vehicles to be launched in Australia in 2015 would be just the start of things to come.
“We are absolutely committed to bringing the best possible products from GM’s global portfolio to our Australian customers to support a strong and exciting future for Holden,” Dorizas notes.
“Holden and Opel share very similar core brand values, including our commitment to performance, engineering excellence, vehicle dynamics and technology, which makes this such a strong and obvious partnership.
“Opel’s commitment to performance and quality aligns perfectly with Holden’s heritage and brand and in turn, these fantastic vehicles will benefit from being backed by one of Australia’s strongest brands and biggest dealer networks.”
Earlier this year Holden announced that it will launch three European-sourced vehicles in the first half of 2015 – the Cascada convertible, the Astra GTC and VXR three-door hatches and the Insignia VXR performance sedan.
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