Holden Is Cruzing

7 Nov 11

The Australian-designed Holden Cruze hatchback has started rolling off the production line in Adelaide, a good news story for Australian Manufacturing.

“The Cruze hatch is a major milestone for GM Holden. It shows once again that Australia can design and develop a car for the world market – a clever design and a great looking car,” Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr said today.

“With the introduction of the Cruze hatch, Holden has increased its line rate to build 480 cars a day over two shifts, up from 430. Cruze models account for approximately 185 vehicles a day.”

Building the Cruze and embarking on new export programs has meant about 300 new manufacturing job opportunities at Holden over the past 12 months and enabled the company to improve its efficiency and flexibility.

“The Government has been pleased to support the development of two Cruze models – the sedan and hatchback – and we will continue to back the industry. This vehicle shows how our investment in industry is paying off,” Senator Carr said.

Building the Cruze hatch in Australia has also resulted in greater demand from Holden on local suppliers and the range of components they produce to further improve their viability and strengthen the future manufacturing base.

“This proves that the Government’s New Car Plan is working. We have companies boosting productivity and competitiveness through the Supply Chain Development Program, finding new opportunities through the Automotive Market Access Program in overseas markets alongside manufacturers from the United States, China, Thailand, India and Korea,” Senator Carr said.

“From now to 2015 the centrepiece of the plan – the Automotive Transformation Scheme – will support $4.2 billion in capital investment and innovation and $39 billion in domestic production.

“This is a good news story for the industry and it’s great to see results from the Government’s involvement and belief in the future of manufacturing.”