AWD to drive HSV sales

HOLDEN Special Vehicles head honcho John Crennan believes all-wheel drive models will comprise at least 50 per cent of HSV sales within five years.

Stressing it was only his opinion, the chief of the brand which was built on powerful, rear-drive, Commodore-based vehicles was adamant that AWD would be the key to HSV’s future growth.

"Within five years all-wheel drive will be in excess of 50 per cent of HSV volume," said Mr Crennan on the promotional DVD for Australia’s first AWD V8, the HSV Coupe 4.

Later asked to expand on the comment, Mr Crennan said all-wheel drive would be a critical element as HSV continued its push into luxury car segments.

"Where the greatest opportunity for us lies is that we’re really trying to be two car companies in one," he explained.

"The land and fortress of our business is the two-wheel drive ClubSport Australian performance vehicle and I’m not sure that we’re at saturation level there, but we may be very close to it.

"It’s a matter of getting the very best out of that market, and you’ll see with new models that what we’re trying to do with models like the Euro-set Senator, Grange and Coupe 4, that’s probably where we see the (most) opportunity – and if we grow that business via AWD I think a lot of it will be incremental."

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All 2006 VE Commodores will have the capacity to offer both two-wheel and all-wheel drivetrains

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HSV plans to build 100 Coupe 4s this year and a similar number in 2005, while the Holden Adventra-based Avalanche wagon and XUV utility are full-time, albeit low-volume, HSV range members.

All 2006 VE Commodores will have the capacity to offer both two-wheel and all-wheel drivetrains.

Asked whether HSV could successfully market luxury AWD vehicles without losing the rear-drive fan base it currently targets and for which it has become famous, Mr Crennan said he believed the HSV brand could cover both bases.

"I think the HSV brand will be the product brand. You know, I think like Holden can be everything from Barinas through to Caprices, I would like to think the HSV brand can be everything from ClubSports and Maloos, right through to AWDs in the luxury segment," he said.

"And I hope we get the credit from the consumer for putting the packaging of each respective model correctly. In that I guess I’m saying I think you’ll see more of the all-wheel drive side of our business directed at the top end of the market.

"I think as long as we do a great job with still providing the cars in that $60-$70,000 price bracket where we’ve really established our fortress (and we’re not going to take the pressure off that in any way, shape or form, which will become evident pretty soon – we’ll not do anything to lose any ground there) but then do a whole lot of new things in the AWD and hopefully we’re going to conquest some of that market that is quite different from that.

"If you’re asking can we walk both sides of the street, I think we can as long as the products are right on both sides of the street." Mr Crennan admitted his expected demand for AWD cars was more of a gut feeling than something written down in HSV’s business plan, considering Holden had yet to build an AWD carpark in Australia.

"If I was to take you to our business plan right now, out to 2009 and 2010, the numbers in that don’t actually support the opinion that I’ve got – it’s really my hunch because … one of the most remarkable assets that Holden has is its carpark and the repeat purchase factor," he said.

"Now there is no AWD carpark out there for Holden. There’s no God-given rights that we can get ourselves a whole heap of new business as a consequence of that and I can’t tell you how important that carpark is to our business.

"I always say good luck to FPV ever trying to catch us because we’ve got 45,000 cars on the road and they’ve got about 3000. We would have to mess things up pretty badly to disorientate ourselves with that fantastic carpark we’ve got, but we don’t have it in AWD and we’ve got to build that.

"But it’s my belief that as we chip away at that and move it in that direction, and if we had that carpark I would be saying rest assured the numbers are in the business plan. So I think that if we do a good job with these and move them toward our enthusiast market with an all-wheel drive approach to things, I think we’ll get there."