Holden has announced that is has elected to retire the ZB Commodore in 2020.
By HEATH McALPINE
Holden Interim Chairman and Managing Director Kristian Aquilina has confirmed that both the ZB Commodore and BK Astra will be withdrawn from the market in 2020 as the brand’s portfolio focuses exclusively on SUVs and light commercial vehicles.
“Holden is taking this decisive action to ensure a sharp focus on the largest and most buoyant market segments,” Aquilina said.
“So far this year SUVs and Utes have increased to 76 percent of Holden sales, a trend we only see continuing.”
Falling sales for the Commodore are to blame as the model is set for a projected sales figure of 8,700 units, a long way off the 217,882 mark it hit back in 1998.
Since October 2013, the passenger car segment has declined by more than 87 percent overall, while the private buyers in the segment have dropped 93 percent in that time.
“The SUV segment is approaching half a million units, and LCVs over 200,000 units. That’s where the action is and that’s where we are going to play,” Aquilina explained.
The new Holden boss acknowledged the changing market space and the long history of the Commodore model life.
“The decision to retire the Commodore nameplate has not been taken lightly by those who understand and acknowledge its proud heritage,” he said.
“The large sedan was the cornerstone of Australian and New Zealand roads for decades. But now with more choice than ever before, customers are displaying a strong preference for the high driving position, functionality and versatility of SUVs and Utes.”
With the imminent withdrawal of the ZB Commodore, Holden re-affirmed its commitment to Supercars in a statement below:
Holden recently re-committed to racing in Supercars through until the end of 2021, and that will happen with the currently homologated ZB Commodore race car. Racing is a strong part of Holden’s brand identity and we will assess our options as Supercars continues to evolve its rules for the next generation of cars currently due to be introduced in 2022.
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