GM’s Australian car company Holden will take charge of the development of a 5-door hatchback version of the Chevrolet Cruze, which would be the replacement for the Chevrolet Optra5 which was sold here in Malaysia. The project will cost AU$600 million and Holden will build it alongside the Cruze sedan at its Elizabeth plant in South Australia from Q3 2010 onwards, and the company also intends to export it.

Holden says it needs a hatchback car as they claim Australia’s largest passenger car segment in terms of volume consists roughly half of hatchbacks. It used to bring the Astra in as an offering but decided to stop because of currency fluctuations.

Holden will use the Cruze platform (of which global platform also underpins the new Astra) and build a hatchback version positioned in a more upmarket position compared to the Cruze sedan. It will have an “European” feel that will lean more towards how the Astra feels rather than the Cruze, thanks to steering and suspension input from Holden.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Thu, 18 Mar 10 02:50:38 +0000.

General Motors has revealed Vauxhall’s interpretation of the Chevy Volt which will be offered in a right hand drive form, and that potential buyers can expect a production version by 2012. Based on the Chevy Volt and the Opel Ampera, this almost similar looking Vauxhall Ampera also features the Voltec electric propulsion system, meaning for journeys of up to 60 kilometers, it runs on electricity stored in the 16-kWh, lithium-ion battery pack and this is done by emitting zero emissions.

Once energy in the battery pack is depleted, electricity generated from an engine-generator extends the Ampera’s range to more than 500 km. Recharging can be performed via a 230 volt house hold power outlet. GM also revealed that its Australian subsidiary Holden, will offer its own version of the Volt/Ampera for the Australian market. Personally, the Ampera looks a little better than the more down to earth Volt. Continue reading to view an image gallery.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Thu, 18 Mar 10 02:50:38 +0000.

Holden and the Australian government will spend hundreds of millions of Australian dollars upgrade the automaker’s Adelaide plant to build a small car powered by a 4-cylinder engine. The Australian federal government will provide AU$149 million while the Adelaide state government will top up another AU$30 million, and this amount will be matched by Holden for a total of AU$358 million.

The car will be build from Q3 2010 onwards and will be powered by direct injection petrol and diesel engine engines, with planned support for E85, LPG and CNG in the future. This model could be a badge engineered version of the new Chevrolet Cruze. The Chevrolet Cruze’s predecessor (Chevrolet Optra) is currently sold in Australia as the Holden Viva sedan.

The delay in production could be due to Holden waiting for the next generation engine family for the Cruze to be released, since their press released mentioned direct injection across the board. The Cruze was originally promised to debut with a 1.4 liter turbocharged direct injection engine but so far launches have only featured a line-up of normally aspirated “old school” engines. The new family of “downsized” Ecotec engines may be in final stages of testing.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Thu, 18 Mar 10 02:50:38 +0000.