Gmh Lands Pontiac Deal
The Age
Wednesday February 14, 2007
GM HOLDEN'S Elizabeth assembly plant in South Australia has been thrown a lifeline by the company's sister division in the US, Pontiac, which has placed an order for an expected 30,000 to 50,000 Commodores a year. The SS-based cars will be badged as Pontiac G8s and deliveries could start in October.
The order will lift the Elizabeth plant to full capacity and play a major role in securing its future, under a cloud after a dramatic decline in domestic large-car sales.GMH executive chairman Denny Mooney says the company is trying to establish closer product-swap arrangements with GM divisions around the world, although he says that GMH will be most closely linked with Pontiac.Pontiac has a reputation for producing driver's cars and Mr Mooney says the two divisions might win better car development budgets from GM's head office if they co-operate when proposing new models.The G8 is a new model for the US and will come as a V6, while the G8 GT will have the 6.0-litre, all-aluminium L76 V8. Mr Mooney is reluctant to forecast sales volumes, but GM's US product development chief Bob Lutz had said he expected Pontiac to sell between 30,000 and 50,000 units a year. The G8 will sell into the large-sedan market in the US, Mr Mooney says, which is 20 times bigger than the coupe market its Monaro-based Pontiac GTO was aimed at three years ago. -- IAN PORTER
© 2007 The Age
