General Motors’ Australian unit Holden has welcomed the federal government’s decision to introduce a new Australian Design Rule making electronic stability control (ESC) mandatory on all new passenger cars and SUVs.

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Federal minister for infrastructure, transport, regional development and local government, Anthony Albanese, said today in Canberra the new regulation would come into effect from 2011.


Speaking at the event, Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries president and Holden chairman and managing director Mark Reuss praised the Government’s decision to introduce a standardised national approach to vehicle safety rather than allowing a state by state roll-out to occur.


“Mainstreaming ESC technology in passenger cars and SUVs will save lives – it is as simple as that,” Reuss said.


Reuss added Holden was already committed to fitting ESC as standard by the time all next generation models are launched ‘down under’.

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“ESC is all about avoiding crashes – fitting ESC as standard is absolutely the right thing to do for all motorists.”


All locally built Commodore models already have ESC as standard, including the ute (pickup truck) line. The company’s other models are imported from other GM units, mainly GM-Daewoo in Korea.


International studies have suggested that ESC can prevent more than 30% of single vehicle accidents, Holden said.

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