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Vauxhall To Take A Leaf From Holden’s Book?

Despite talk of interest from China and other parties, the rumour persists that General Motors may hold onto UK brand Vauxhall, even should there be an eventual dissolution of GM-owned manufacturer Opel.
With Vauxhall sourcing most of its models from Ope


Despite talk of interest from China and other parties, the rumour persists that General Motors may hold onto UK brand Vauxhall, even should there be an eventual dissolution of GM-owned manufacturer Opel.

With Vauxhall sourcing most of its models from Opel, the question becomes one of where the UK brand will pull its new lines from if Opel leaves the GM stables.

One option being considered by GM is to follow a similar line to that taken with its Australian subsidiary, Holden.

In recent years, the entire range of front-wheel-drive Opel-sourced models at Holden have been succeeded by more cost-effective Daewoo models, including the Epica, Barina, Captiva and the upcoming Cruze.

While Vauxhall seems to have achieved a short-term win with the Opel-built Insignia, the model’s future with Vauxhall may be short-lived, with the Epica a likely successor.

However, with Daewoo models already sold in the UK under the Chevrolet brand, some tough decisions will need to be made on the future of the American brand in the UK and the merging of its model lines with Vauxhall.

With Holden sure to suffer lost revenue as a result of Pontiac’s demise, the Aussie manufacturer may also be tapped to provide the UK market with the Commodore sedan and Sportwagon, already available in HSV guise as the Vauxhall Monaro VXR, along with the Statesman and Caprice models to the luxury end of the brand.

Holden’s upcoming diesel engine should also give it further reach into the oil-burner loving European market, with the 2.9 litre V6 mill – believed to develop around 188kW (250hp) and 549Nm (405lb-ft) – being developed in partnership with Italian diesel specialist VM Motori.

[via Autocar]

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