Cruzing into a New Era
The all new Cruze is an important vehicle for Holden. In fact the company itself is calling it an “all new era for Holden.” And by all accounts the vehicle has been well received with early retail sales exceeding expectations.
This vehicle has a large gap to fill. It is positioned to replace the very popular Astra as well as filling the hole created by the discontinued Viva. This will be no easy task. The Astra’s reputation as a classy European styled vehicle is somewhat at odds to the good-value positioning of the Viva.
As for competitors, the Cruze is set to take on Corolla in the small vehicle segment and the Camry in the medium segment. While Cruze’s size, styling, pricing and equipment levels certainly make it a worthy competitor, the Corolla and Camry are no slouches, both constantly being the best sellers in their segments.
Cruze is manufactured in the Daewoo factory in Korea which may be a put off for some drivers. But Holden is going to great lengths push the ‘global’ credentials of the vehicle pointing out that the design team was German based and that Australian engineers made substantial contributions to the vehicle.
But these, albeit minor, obstacles don’t seem to be holding sales back with recent VFacts data indicating that Cruze is making inroads. With sales of 1,982 units in July Cruze is in 5th position with 10.4% market share in the small vehicle segment and sold 265 more units than Toyota’s 4 cylinder Camry.
Cruze’s model range, while not extensive, is bound to please. Both the entry level CD and the up spec CDX include Electronic Stability Control, six airbags, a six speaker CD system with steering wheel mounted audio controls and cruise control. The CD and CDX are powered by a 1.8 litre 4 cylinder petrol engine and the CDX is available with a 2.0 litre 4 cylinder turbocharged common rail diesel engine. Both models are offered as a sedan only with a hatch available only when Australian production commences in 2010.
The safety features of this vehicle will be appealing to both individuals and fleet operators. Cruze scored 35.04 points out of a possible 37 in ANCAP testing resulting in it achieving the maximum five star ANCAP safety rating.
The vehicle’s dimensions are also an advantage. Holden claims that Cruze is the largest car in the small vehicle segment, being longer and wider than the Corolla, Focus, Mazda 3, i30 and Lancer. This is likely to appeal to fleet operators looking to move to smaller vehicles without giving up too much space.
Emissions for the petrol vehicle at 7.5l/100km and 179g/km of CO2 (auto) are on par with the Corolla and i30 and a little better than Lancer, Focus and Mazda 3.
For more information contact:
Carolyn Taylor
(02) 9494 1000
ctaylor@sgfleet.com
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