General Motors Specialty Vehicles officially confirmed

Tuesday, 18 August 2020

General Motors has confirmed that Holden Special Vehicles will become General Motors Specialty Vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Kristian Aquilina, interim chairman and managing director of Holden, said the new venture “directly adds sales, marketing and aftersales roles to GM’s 200-strong presence in Australia, and indirectly supports over 150 skilled engineering and manufacturing jobs at our partner in Victoria.

He added that the initial product line-up will feature the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ, alongside other derivatives including the Silverado 2500. The mid-engine Corvette is “anticipated to follow in 2021.” Sorry Camaro fans – looks like Chevy’s Mustang fighter didn’t make the cut this time.

The mid-engined C8 Corvette is set to officially launch in New Zealand in 2021!

The Chevrolet Silverado models will be remanufactured to right-hand-drive (RHD) by the Walkinshaw organisation at their state-of-the art facility in Melbourne while the new Corvette will come to Australia and New Zealand as a right-hooker directly out of the famous Bowling Green plant in Kentucky USA.

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At the moment, the only confirmed GMSV vehicles are the Silverado 1500 and 2500, along with the Corvette. No mention was made of the Camaro or any other North American GM vehicle.

* GMSV to officially emerge this year, Corvette coming 2021

* Right-hook Corvette confirmed for next year

The final HSV vehicle to be built was a white Colorado SportsCat. Given its ties with Walkinshaw, GMSV is sort of like a last hurrah for the Aussie vehicle manufacturing industry.

* HSV axes SportsCat and Camaro 2SS

* Camaro to replace Commodore in Supercars?

GMSV will be established alongside GM’s existing business units in the region: Holden Aftersales and Isuzu New Zealand.

The new venture will be headed up by Joanne Stogiannis who has been appointed to the role of Director of GM Specialty Vehicles. Ms Stogiannis is an experienced automotive professional, with a diverse career spanning over 20 years with GM in Australia. She has worked with several international GM divisions and has broad sales and marketing experience.

“I am thrilled to be leading a new automotive venture by GM in Australia,” said Ms Stogiannis. “Sales of large US pick-ups have been growing consistently and I believe the ongoing strength of that segment will provide a very solid basis for us to build a successful long-term business.

“The plan to bring the stunning new mid-engine Corvette in RHD direct from the factory is an enormously exciting opportunity for local performance car enthusiasts,” said Ms Stogiannis.

Walkinshaw, in a statement, said it is pleased to confirm its role in the new venture and is happy to keep “significant automotive employment in Victoria through this new business and continue to bring exciting product to market which is core to the Walkinshaw Group’s DNA.”

“HSV has enjoyed an extremely successful journey through more than 30 years of Australian automotive history. HSV’s engineering feats and ground-breaking designs captured the hearts of Australians, creating a wide and loyal fan base. This includes the production of over 85,000 HSVs starting with our first Commodore models, through to W1 and the Sportscat.

“The HSV dealer network will continue to service HSV product and to supply warranty, spare parts and accessories to our customers into the future. We are committed to preserving HSV’s integrity and heritage, and ensure it remains the pinnacle of Australian motoring.”