First look: Holden Barina's brother

HOLDEN’S forthcoming all-new light car, set to sit alongside the Barina, will be based on the Aveo sedan and hatchback shown at the recent Shanghai auto show.

GM Daewoo Vice President Corporate Affairs, Rob Leggat, confirmed to GoAuto at last week’s Seoul motor show that the Aveo was the next-generation Kalos.

"The differences (between the Aveo and Kalos) are quite dramatic," he said. “It’s much larger … (and) more aerodynamic.

"It’s a global car, the next-generation. The plan is to export the car all over the world. It will start in Korea and then go to Europe then China…" Mr Leggat refused divulge the exact timing or the extent to which Holden would modify the Aveo and other GM Daewoo models, however he did acknowledge that the Australian company would leave its mark.

"The whole idea is that whatever they take they will put the Holden touch to... so there will be Holden design cues, things of that sort," he said.

"Just like with the (Korean-bound Daewoo-branded) Statesman, with small changes this time, next generation (will bring) more customisation and localisation of product." These statements effectively dismiss earlier speculation Holden would merely bring in a lightly facelifted and mildly re-engineered version of the T200 Kalos, briefly sold as a Daewoo in Australia from 2002 to the end of 2004.

However, despite the extent of the changes from Kalos to Aveo, the newer car is still based on the T200, and is not believed to be a clean-sheet redesign.

Interestingly, the Aveo – which will be built in South Korea and China – was not displayed at the Seoul show. Mr Leggat said this was because the Korean market would not see the Aveo for some time yet and that last week’s Seoul show was a domestic-only, rather than an international, event.

Holden will continue to import the Spanish-built Barina (nee Corsa) to Australia.

However, it is expected to rise in price once the next-generation model arrives sometime in the second half of 2006, tackling the more premium light cars like the Honda Jazz and VW Polo.

This will leave enough room in the sub-$15,000 segment for the Holden ‘Aveo’ to tackle the likes of the Hyundai Getz and Toyota Echo.

The next Barina will be built on an all-new platform developed with Fiat.

It is due to have its world premiere as an Opel Corsa at the Frankfurt motor show in September at the earliest, although some pundits predict a March debut at Geneva instead.