HOLDEN CANS V6 ENGINE PROGRAM

Holden cans V6 development – Photo: LAT

Less than 24 hours after Holden’s worst quarterly sales figures were revealed, the company has announced the suspension (read – likely “death”) of the development of its twin-turbo V6 Supercars engine program.

Holden marketing chief Mark Harland made the announcement in Tasmania this morning, effectively killing the program while stating the company was “100% committed” to motor racing.

“After working closely with all Holden teams and assessing the motorsport landscape, we’ve decided to put a hold on the development … allowing us to focus on the current race car configuration,” he said.

Auto Action believes the call to effectively kill the program came from senior management in the US, and we can exclusively reveal came after GM Executive Vice President, and President of GM International, Barry Engle, flew into Australia recently for significant meetings with Holden’s board and major dealers.

Two V6TT development engines were built in the United States at the GM Powertrain Performance and Racing Center and arrived in Australia early last year.

While producing the required power, the development motors were not to the full specifications required for Supercars and their testing has revealed significant issues.

The decision to suspend the program comes as no surprise, as Auto Action can reveal it is aware concerns of problems being raised internally at Holden early last year.

The first signs of an issue came in mid-June when Holden announced the engine’s planned introduction had been delayed and it would instead be used to power a wildcard entrant at only three events this year.

Only last night, Fox Sports journalist Chris Stubbs announced on Supercars Trackside that the engine was likely to make its racing debut at Sydney Motorsport Park on August 4.

“There is a little bit of work to be done to get to that point; there is still some testing that needs to be completed and the paperwork has to go to Supercars and be signed off on, but that is what the Red Bull Holden Racing Team is working towards,” Stubbs said.

Former Holden motorsport boss Simon McNamara commissioned the V6 program, with a targeted, across-the-board introduction in 2018.

The program was known to be on target when McNamara left the company in January last year, with the program them coming under the control of Harland and the recently-departed Emma Pinwill, with longtime Holden motor racing technical manager Peter Harker liaising between Holden, GM Racing, and Triple 8.

But it is believed, much to McNamara’s frustration, the program was seriously underfunded from the very beginning, a victim of Holden’s brand repositioning which saw motorsport shunned by its marketing department, led by Harland, as it worked hard to “de-boganise” the brand.

As part of its redirection, major funding cuts were made to the racing program, with Auto Action understanding 2017’s budget of less than $4 million approximately half of the preceding year.

It is believed heat soak/retention was a also major issue with the development engines, with internal sources suggesting a new cylinder head, which would do away with the integrated exhaust manifold, being required.

To develop a new, Supercars-specific cylinder head would cost $750,000-$1.5m – clearly a figure Holden has baulked at.

Complicating it all has been Holden’s disastrous slide from grace in the market, with a brand repositioning for the once proud “Australian car company” leading to a sales plummet.

Its first-quarter total of 15,524 units revealed in yesterday’s industry VFacts document is over 22% down on last year and its lowest ever total.

Holden publicity has continued to push a mantra of “24 new cars by 2020” but the majority of the new models have already been introduced, and by using polarizing advertising, they have failed to gain traction in the marketplace – Astra, Colorado, Equinox, and new Commodore (albeit ZB in its very early days) all failing badly.

Only 990 Commodores were recorded as being sold in the March VFacts report, with almost 40% of those VF models, which has been out of production since October.

Equinox sits 12th for medium-sized SUVs under $60,000 in March’s sales figures, a disaster for the brand in the popular and important segment.

Colorado 4×4 was Holden’s highest selling vehicle for March but was just the 23rd most popular car in the country, while its combined 4×2, 4×4, and 7-seater wagon Trailblazer wagon version were outsold significantly by Isuzu’s three similar models (DMax and MUX) 2,580 to 1,716 units despite Isuzu having half the national dealer footprint and less marketing resources.

Industry experts and major dealers have been publicly and privately critical of the company’s advertising, which has shunned Holden’s history and uniqueness as the company tried to position the brand as premium, targeting “new Australia”.

Toyota and Ford also closed local manufacturing, but their transition to pure sales has been far smoother and they have not experienced the disastrous sales slide – Ford just 0.2% down year-to-date with its Ranger and Mustang clear market successes, and Toyota over 8% up in leading the record market.

Engle flew into the country on the Australian Grand Prix weekend, parking the GM corporate jet at Essendon Airport, before meeting with Holden’s board of directors.

We understand another meeting with leading Holden dealers was also held, with growing rumblings suggesting major changes are about to be made at Fishermans Bend.

Some industry experts have suggested the Holden brand itself is in trouble with the possibility of GM closing its Australian operations – an easier task now the manufacturing operations have been shut.

Company sources have previously denied the suggestion, although GM’s recent decisions to sell or close a large number of its troubled or poor performing international operations, including Opel and Vauxhall, could be seen as a strong indication of its intentions.

Whether this plays out would only be pure speculation at this point in time, but keep watching this space…

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