Holden has confirmed that the successor to the current Australian produced Commodore will retain its legendary namesake despite being an import from the United States.
The decision means the Commodore could continue to race in the V8 Supercars series even after Australian production comes to a halt in 2017.
Holden Executive Director of Sales Peter Keley said customer feedback was a key factor in the retention of the nameplate.
“The next-generation large car we have selected from GM’s global portfolio is worthy of the iconic Commodore nameplate,” Keley said.
“When it arrives in 2018, our new large car will honour Commodore’s heritage and support a long and successful future for Holden in Australia and New Zealand. Holden and Commodore aren’t going anywhere, they will remain pillars of Australian motoring for many years to come.
“Customers have confirmed that retaining the Commodore nameplate is the right decision for Holden.
“Through the process of selecting the vehicle, we put to customers a number of possible criteria to better understand what they felt was important for the car to be competitive in the Australian market. And, of course, whether it deserved the Commodore nameplate.
“Ultimately, the overwhelming response from customers was that Holden should continue the Commodore nameplate into the future with our next-generation large car.”
Holden will be hoping the new generation Commodore can continue to emulate the enormous success enjoyed by the car since it was first raced in 1980 at the hands of the great Peter Brock.
In this time Commodores have taken the chequered flag over 425 times on their way to 15 titles across both the Australian Touring Cars Championship and the V8 Supercars championship.
GM Holden Motorsport and Sponsorship Manager Simon McNamara says that while Holden are keen to replicate these successes they need to be sure that the 2018 Commodore is the best fit for the Gen 2 Supercars rules that take effect in 2017.
“Racing is an integral part of Holden’s DNA and Commodore is the most successful nameplate in Australian Touring Car and V8 Supercar history and we are looking forward to winning races and championships with Commodores in the future,” McNamara said.
“We have every intention of racing Commodore for many years to come, but obviously we need to keep working with the regulators and ensure the specific program is the right one.”
