For the first time since 2005, two Holden vehicles – Commodore and Cruze – have finished the year among Australia’s top five-selling vehicles.
After a record 15 years as Australia’s number one selling car, the Commodore – Holden’s steadfast local hero – closed 2011 in the number two position with sales of 40,617 units.
Having led year-to-date sales for seven months in 2011, the Commodore passenger range sold 2,814 units in December, making it Australia’s second most popular car for the year.
The Holden Cruze sold 2,783 units in December, placing it the fourth highest-selling car in December and fifth for 2011. Holden sold a total 33,784 Cruzes last year, an increase of 5,450 units or 19.2 per cent compared to 2010. It was also Holden’s best December Cruze result on record.
Elsewhere, Holden experienced a record December for its Captiva 5 SUV, selling 499 units, and the best Captiva 7 December result since 2009, with 992 sales.
The recently-introduced Barina hatch continued to attract new buyers, helping Holden to sell 1,343 Barinas in only its second full month of sales. The result was also the best December in the nameplate’s 26-year history in Australia.
Holden Executive Director Marketing, Sales and Aftersales John Elsworth said while market conditions had been challenging in the closing months of 2011, Holden still had much to celebrate.
“We’re extremely proud of Commodore. No other car in Australian history has been number one for 15 years in a row, and it’s an achievement Holden is very proud of,” he said.
“During Commodore’s 15-year reign as the number one car the local market has changed significantly with new brands and even completely new types of vehicles giving customers more options than ever before.
“Whole new segments and models have been created, which simply didn’t exist 15 years ago, and this has given Australian consumers unprecedented choice.
”For Commodore to remain so strong throughout this time is a testament to the innovation and talent within Holden and the local industry, which has consistently introduced new, world-class technologies and features alongside or even ahead of the competition.
“Right now, we’re focussing on selling the cars our customers want. Whether it’s a small or large car built at our local manufacturing operations or an imported model from our diverse product portfolio.
“Cruze is another great success story for Holden. Since we started to build the Cruze locally in our Adelaide assembly plant last year, we’ve introduced a range of new fuel efficient engines and launched a distinctive locally-designed hatch, and Cruze has been extremely well received by our customers.
“There’s no doubt we have a challenging year ahead in 2012 but we’re looking forward to the announcement of a new dedicated LPG Commodore in the coming weeks, which will offer significantly reduced running costs and lower carbon emissions, and the arrival of our new generation Colorado LCV mid-year.”
Holden’s December sales totalled 10,193 with a market share of 12.4 per cent. Overall, Holden sold a total of 126,095 units in 2011, bringing the company’s year-end market share to 12.5 per cent.
