GM to drop Pontiac G8 amongst brand cull?

[pd-xc-72464118]

Looks like the future of Commodore exports to the US is a bit shaky :(

GM Considers Dropping GMC, Pontiac Brands (http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=14880)
(http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=14880)

[Calibrated]

ruh roh. down goes daewoo, i mean holden.

[topgear]

Doesnt HAVE to mean the end of exports does it? I mean the Commodore could easily be sold as a Chevrolet, after all it would be easier to make it look like one since you can keep the same front end as local models and only replace the badges.

[Vectracious]

Still got all the exports to the UAE as well.

[Calibrated]

and south africa aswell, but only the ss and i think chev only sells around 30 to 40 units per month max.

[Shaun]

Holden's export Program isnt just to the USA. they export to NZ China Middle east and to the Uk (HSV Products )

[daiflu]

Holden's export Program isnt just to the USA. they export to NZ China Middle east and to the Uk (HSV Products )
+ Brazil & South Africa

[daiflu]

This news is also poor timing, since the sales of the G8 appear to be picking up:



THE Holden-made Pontiac G8 has set another sales record in the US, with 2939 sold last month.
It is the best monthly sales result yet for the Commodore-based sedan.
The vehicle had struggled despite a series of rave reviews, and average monthly sales for the last six months of 2008 stood at just 1455.
Pontiac sold 1331 G8s in January and then 2707 in February.
Holden says the G8's 2009 performance is "encouraging ... particularly in today's challenging market conditions."

JAMES STANFORD 7 April 2009

[rjastra]

More news....

http://blogs.motortrend.com/6521999/car-news/according-to-fritz-hummer-sale-likely-soon-buick-gmc-profitable/index.html

It doesn't look like GM is jettisoning OPEL at all.....

[gslrallysport]

Still got all the exports to the UAE as well.
Yep, and by the number of orders we're getting for VE brake pads to the middle east, I don't think they're lacking in exports in that part of the world at all... :eek:

[Shaun]

I dont believe Holdens Export Markets are declining. In the Middle East they can afford to run V8's as fuel is so cheap.

[poita]

more news on the pontiac drop


http://carsguide.news.com.au/site/news-and-reviews/story/gm_kills_pontiac_brand/?referrer=email


Holden's Pontiac G8 export hero has less than 18 months to live.

The car was sent to death row yesterday as General Motors put the sword to the whole Pontiac brand in its efforts to survive the global economic crisis.

Pontiac will be dead by the end of 2010 as GM focusses its revised viability program on four key brands in the USA - Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.

There is no clear picture yet of how the G8 decision will affect Holden's factory at Elizabeth in South Australia, although its output had already been slashed in reaction to falling local sales of the Commodore and in anticipation of the Pontiac decision.

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"We will work with Pontiac to manage the phase-out of the G8 through to the end of next year. The announcement has only just occurred so we don’t know what their expectations might be, as the car is currently selling really well," GM Holden spokesman, Scott Whiffin, said this morning.

"Notwithstanding the fact that this has only just been announced, we don’t envisage there will be any job losses at Elizabeth as a result of this decision."

The bad news on the G8 was balanced by no news of any potential sale of GM Holden.

General Motors has talked recently about selling its Opel and Vauxhall divisions in Europe and Britain - in addition to Saab and Hummer - but there was no mention of GM Holden when GM president Fritz Henderson worked through the latest viability plan in Detroit last night.

The end of the G8 means GM Holden will shift its focus very quickly to the export potential of its new small car, the Cruze, which goes into production alongside the Commodore next year.

The business plan for the car was originally only based on Australian sales but the car - and particularly the hatchback model - will now be pushed as a potential winner for GM outposts in other countries around Asia and also South Africa.

It could also join the Commodore in the Middle East, where a version of the VE is sold with Chevrolet badges.