Holden axes its golden era Commodore
HOLDEN has axed its muchloved Commodore due to slow sales.
The company says it will also withdraw the once-popular Astra hatchback and sedan from sale as it focuses solely on utes, SUVs and four-wheeldrives, which now dominate Australian driveways.
The Commodore was the country’s best-selling car for 15 years, reaching a peak of 94,642 sales in 1998. So far this year, Holden has sold just 5417.
The car was locally built until October 2017, when Holden’s Elizabeth plant in South Australia closed its doors.
It was replaced with a German-built model built by then GM subsidiary Opel.
The import hasn’t been well received and Holden’s fortunes have spiralled since its introduction. This year it has sold just 39,969 cars, a far cry from the 106,092 it sold just five years ago.
Holden’s interim chairman and managing director, Kristian Aquilina, said the company was shifting its focus to its Acadia, Trailblazer, Equinox and Trax SUVs, as well as the Colorado work ute.
“Holden is taking this decisive action to ensure a sharp focus on the largest and most buoyant market segments.
“So far this year SUVs and utes have increased to 76 per cent of Holden sales, a trend we only see continuing,” he said.
The Commodore and Astra will be sold into next year, until stocks run out. Holden has committed to keeping spare parts supply “well into the future”.
Company spokesman Daniel Cotterill said Holden would continue to race the Commodore in the Supercars series until the end of 2021.
“Holden recently recommitted to racing in Supercars through until the end of 2021, and that will happen with the currently homologated ZB Commodore race car.”
Large family sedans, once the dominant sight on Australian roads, have all but disappeared from new-car showrooms in the past two decades. In 1998, Australians bought 217,882 large cars. This year Holden predicts there will be roughly 8700 sold.