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Holden: New Volt EV Ruled Out For Australia, Bolt Unclear

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Holden: New Volt EV Ruled Out For Australia, Bolt Unclear Photo:

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2015 Chevrolet Bolt EV Concept - Detroit Photo:

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Chevrolet’s all-new electrified Volt will not come to Australia, Holden has confirmed.

Speaking with TMR today, Holden spokesperson Kate Lonsdale said that the new model will be built in left-hand-drive only, effectively ruling out an Australian launch.

But, don't go running to the tissues just yet, there may yet be a round-about chance for the new Volt in Australia.

If Chevrolet’s GM Europe counterpart Opel builds a new Volt-based Ampera, a right-hand-drive program for UK subsidiary Vauxhall could give the Volt new life here as part of Holden’s plan to take new models from the Opel operation.

For now, though, we can only speculate, and the cost of importing an electric vehicle produced in Germany could again rule out any local potential.

Today’s news also marks the end of Volt availability in Australia, just about: apart from one demonstrator available in Perth, Holden is now sold out of its allocation.

The end of Volt supply means that sales for 2015 will end at just 10 units, with Holden moving fewer than 300 Volt cars in its three years on the local market.

But, at $59,990 before on-roads, in one of the few western markets where customers cannot take advantage of rebates or tax breaks on EVs, Holden knew the Volt was never going to be a top seller.

“Volt was never intended to be a volume seller in Australia,” Ms Lonsdale said, adding that its purpose was “always niche, introducing Holden and our customers to new technologies”.

The company remains committed, as much as it can be, to its toe-in-the-water electric vehicle program, promising ongoing support for existing Volt owners.

“Current generation Volt production has now ceased however Holden is committed to supporting Volt customers and will ensure specialist Holden Volt Service Centres will continue to be comprehensively trained to complete the highest quality servicing,” the company said in a statement today.

“Service centres will also retain access to the complete range of Holden Volt genuine parts.”

As with the Volt, GM’s recently revealed and production-bound Bolt hatch is on Holden’s radar for a local release.

But, with no official word yet on a right-hand-drive schedule, there’s likewise no word on the chances that we’ll see it here.

Until word comes, Holden will now rejoin the overwhelming majority of carmakers that do not offer an alternative-fuel model in their line-up.

MORE: Aus Government ‘Needs To Do More’ On Electric Cars
MORE: Tesla’s Australian Supercharger Infrastucture Detailed
MORE: Electric Vehicle News & Reviews | Green Cars

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Mike Stevens

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TMR Comments

DE | 24 Apr 2015 08:05

Not even the flex fuel E85 anymore since that has also been discontinued.

F-Noze | 24 Apr 2015 08:59

GM is going to become a bit player in Oz, just watch.

markwa F-Noze | 24 Apr 2015 09:22

Yeah it's called Holden. Chev, holden, Opel does not matter what name they use since its all GM.

markwa F-Noze | 24 Apr 2015 09:25

Seems a bit odd not to import the new model yet it seems that might just be due to holden starting to import and sell opels again so the opel version would make sense. Hope so since the opel version looks better. While the current one was a slow seller the market is changing and maybe if holden got of their lazy asses and pushed the volt in our market they might have sold more.

donk1 | 24 Apr 2015 12:31

Too expensive & servicing was a nightmare . At the $60k or so, it would have taken yrs to recoup the money spent just to save on fuel use. Far better cars out there including Camry or Prius hybrids. Diesels are usually always way better again as far as fuel economy is concerned, particularly if you do around 20-25,000 km a yr.

MotorMouth donk1 | 26 Apr 2015 01:48

Neither Camry nor Prius are in the same league as Volt. Jay Leno drove his Volt to and from work every day for a year, more than 17,000km, without having to put a drop of petrol in it. A Prius won't make it to the corner of your street without switching the petrol motor on.

Heinz | 26 Apr 2015 05:35

Neither Camry nor Prius are in the same league as Volt. Jay Leno drove his Volt to and from work every day for a year, more than 17,000km, without having to put a drop of petrol in it. A Prius won't make it to the corner of your street without switching the petrol motor on.

You are missing the point! The Prius is cheaper to own, as the on-road purchase price is about $15k lower. I genuinly think we need cars like this, but it really makes sense when start producing clean power. Let's be honest here, this car really is only for people that drive from Point A to Point B and plug it in, while working at the same place for many hours. How many inner city car parks have power plugs? The car doesn't work for people that drive a lot or have to cover long distance. I would also rather own a Toyota at this stage(no, I'm not a Toyota fanboy), as the technology is more mature and parts are more readily available.

MotorMouth donk1 | 26 Apr 2015 01:49

As far as I'm aware, Ampera is also made in the US so I think you can forget about the possibility of a RHD 2nd gen Volt.

bystander | 26 Apr 2015 06:45

The Ampera looks better anyway, so this might help them sell some more cars.

donk1 | 26 Apr 2015 07:45

There's very little chance that the Ampera will even be imported here. Holden have only sold less than a dozen Volts over the last yr. The biggest issue will be cost as it's likely to be a fair bit more than the just deleted vehicle. Currency exchange rates in Euros rather than $US will almost certainly rule it out completely as will the sales expectations. Would need to sell hundreds of vehicles a yr to be profitable.