An open secret about a future General Motors Holden model for Australia has been inadvertently confirmed, according to an Australian media report.
Opel chief Karl Thomas Neumann told Australian media at the Geneva show on Tuesday "the Australians will like this car a lot". He was referring to the next generation Opel/Vauxhall Insignia widely tipped to replace the home-grown Holden Commodore when local production ends in 2017, news.com.au reported.
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Asked when the new model would be unveiled ahead of its showroom arrival, the executive said "very soon". When asked how many would be exported from Germany and shipped to Australia, the Opel boss said: "as many as possible".
Until now, Holden and General Motors executives have refused to confirm that the next Commodore would come from Germany, even though it was widely speculated, the report said.
It means the Commodore would no longer be available with a V8, instead opting for four-cylinder or V6 turbo power.
A version of the current Commodore is sold in the UK as a Vauxhall.
Holden's original 1978 Commodore was an Opel Rekord body, much strengthened, with the Senator nose and used Holden's ancient OHV I6 and V8 engines. An I4 option was added later and sold primarily in the main export market, New Zealand.
