The Motor Report Auto News Blog

The recent preview of the Chevrolet Beat, Groove and Trax at the New York Motor Show has GM Holden considering the importation of more Daewoo product from Korea. We currently have the KT Barina and Epica both of which have been criticised for safety levels (KT Barina) and seemingly spurious but possibly misunderstood marketing tactics (Epica – money back guarantee).

Despite the criticism Holden may consider bringing in the next generation Matiz (think Chevrolet Beat, pictured above) which would fill the ‘light car’ niche below the current TK Barina. Although details are not thick on the ground it is expected that the possible new addition to the Holden range would be called the Holden Matiz.

Holden’s marketing director discussed the possibility of the Matiz heading down-under with GoAuto and although he was reluctant to provide a definite answer he did leave the door open.

“I would never say never, based on our desire and global car industry desire to get cars cheaper in terms of production, and sometimes that means you can pass it on to consumers,” Mr Elsworth said.

Holden are faced with a rapidly changing world and need to be able to compete by providing more fuel efficient products at sensible prices. Sadly, building such vehicles or for that matter any vehicles in Australia is a costly exercise. We cannot compete with Korea and China in this regard.

It would be expected that the Matiz being an all new design will perform better than the current TK Barina in crash tests. Final styling would probably (we hope) be a toned down version of the concept car. Despite the criticism from some quarters the TK Barina still manages to out-sell the previous model indicating that the budget conscious market is alive and well.