Wait for the jolt after GM’s news

This week we were reminded sharply of just how tumultuous a world we now live in with General Motors apparently on the brink of selling its iconic European brands, Opel and Vauxhall.

Straight away the question of how such a sale would impact on Holden comes to mind, especially with the new Commodore and Astra hatchback models coming from Opel.

Though there were reassurances from Holden New Zealand that there was nothing official about such a sale and that it was business as usual, the international news stories appear to be well- sourced and indicate a sale of the brands to the French conglomerate that runs Citroen and Peugeot is well down the track. An announcement of the sale could be imminent.

If such significant European brands are being discarded by the American giant, it is reasonable to ask whether the Australasian arm could be on the block as well. Like Ford and Toyota in Australia, Holden is in transition from being TONY VERDON an Australian vehicle assembler and distributor, to becoming an importer and distributor.

Its success partially rests on Australasian acceptance of the European- originated models such as the new Commodore and Astra hatchback.

Though those models have been revealed and in the case of the Astra, will soon appear in Australasian showrooms, an Opel/ Vauxhall sale to the French raises obvious longer- term questions.

General Motors is unlikely to trim its operations in Asia ( its Chinese operation now sells more vehicles than GMsells in its home market), so longer- term options could be a combination of American and Korean- sourced vehicles — not too different from its rival Ford.

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