Will the Holden brand survive? - Page 8

Bossxr8 · 31-05-2018, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

https://www.goauto.com.au/future-mod...-24/72890.html

From the article about the new Arcadia -

"Due to its size and comfort levels, Mr Tassone also likened the Acadia to the Australian-built Caprice that was discontinued last year with the end of local Holden manufacturing.

“It’s a great car. We’re really excited – it’s like the new Caprice almost,” he said.

“It’s a great, big luxurious seven-seater, and it almost fills that space that the Caprice left and as far as a car to just eat up the miles in."

Wow, this guy is delirious!

And this -

"“I did 2000km in it a couple of weekends ago – and it’s just a great car, it’s awesome and its going to be really good.”"

How old is this guy? That reads like something a 7 year old would say.
The digging continues............

Petrol V6 in a big SUV, with petrol prices soaring

I can see this thing tanking already. He's right about the similarities to the Caprice, it will be selling less than 100 a month just like that did in it's final year

mr smith · 31-05-2018, 08:49 PM

That Arcadia has to be one of the ugliest new cars on the market. Mike Simcoe who did some great work with Holden is not really hitting the mark with the GM range..everything they do looks tacky.

Sprint XR8 · 31-05-2018, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Muirs Holden closes in Sydney

GM HOLDEN has confirmed that one of its first and longest-serving dealerships has closed without replacement, after Muirs Holden in Sydney’s inner-west last month ceased its 72 years of trading on the same premises.

https://premium.goauto.com.au/muirs-...ses-in-sydney/

eb2fairmont · 01-06-2018, 12:04 AM

oh wow I can see a zb

b0son · 01-06-2018, 02:43 AM

they're already planning to sell the ZB's replacement, the ZFG.. zero forks given...

davenl5l · 01-06-2018, 07:10 AM

A major Sadelaide dealer has just made most of its sales staff redundant just in time for the EOFY sales and the workshop is dead . Manager tells staff they are struggling makes you wonder if they will survive

**Burnout** · 01-06-2018, 07:37 AM

GM-H tossing dealers.......

radler · 01-06-2018, 01:55 PM

Maybe gmh will go back to the 70’s and ressurect the kingswood badge .... say a fully imported made in China kings wood with 3 on the column ...

Maybe that could spark some sense of nostalgic interest in the market ....

Nikked · 01-06-2018, 02:27 PM

I've noticed the local Holden dealer is showing more tv ads for its Kia and Mitsubishi franchises...this dealer had a massive referb a few years back for its holden showroom and workshop too...

JIm260 · 01-06-2018, 02:42 PM

Our local Holden dealer is focusing its ads on its Mazda sales and only mentions Holden in terms of servicing and parts supply.

Cheers
Jim

Syndrome · 01-06-2018, 02:49 PM

Nasty times for Holden dealers. Makes their mid 1980s turmoil pale into insignificance.

What Muirs Holden looked like last year:

https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33....7i13312!8i6656

**solarite_guy** · 01-06-2018, 03:31 PM

There was once a saying to the effect "what's good for GM is good for America". Looks like that mentality may have caught with them in Australia in dramatic fashion.

I know I am an outsider and miss a lot of the day to day details on issues, but this situation with GM certainly comes across as a handful of "smart people" making decisions in a vacuum.

Nikked · 01-06-2018, 06:27 PM

I think Holden just took its patronage for granted, ford wooed us with the Mustang and the Ranger is enough of a hit to forget that ford was once the "Falcon car company".

Perhaps they just underestimated how much the Commodore meant to the Holden brand, to Australia at least...the commodore seems to be doing ok in NZ.

danzvtil · 17-06-2018, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davenl5l

A major Sadelaide dealer has just made most of its sales staff redundant just in time for the EOFY sales and the workshop is dead . Manager tells staff they are struggling makes you wonder if they will survive

Yep,we’re both talking about the same dealer, since buying the barina, our branch has been closed down, 3 sales staff are gone, 1 moved to another branch, only doing servicing there now. My contact was the one who stayed, this is the first time ever this group has retrenched staff.

Just to highlight how on the nose the Holden brand is to non car people, my ex is looking to replace her 10yo Honda with something smaller, thru my Holden guy above, I can get an Astra fully loaded for $7k off RRP, on suggesting this she laughed and flatly refused to get anything with a Holden badge after seeing how many times my work cars break. For her, it will be a Hyundai/Kia, seems the rest of the buying public feel the same.

**DFB FGXR6** · 03-07-2018, 07:02 PM

https://www.caradvice.com.au/662450/...year-warranty/

5 year / Unlimited km warranty for private buyers.
5 year / 200,000 km warranty for fleet/government/rental buyers.

Interesting to note that Ford's recent announcement of a 5 year warranty does not put a cap on km's for fleet/government/rental buyers.

danzvtil · 15-09-2018, 09:54 PM

https://www.caradvice.com.au/685429/...rending&slot=1

Barina gone.

Trendseeker · 15-09-2018, 10:18 PM

Our local Holden dealer has split their showroom and yard into thirds. Volkswagen and Volvo now occupy the other two thirds of the dealership.

hackney · 16-09-2018, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trendseeker

Our local Holden dealer has split their showroom and yard into thirds. Volkswagen and Volvo now occupy the other two thirds of the dealership.

It is the only way that they can survive,by multi-franchising.The local Ford dealer in my area also sells MG,KIA & Isuzu ute.Cheers

jpd80 · 16-09-2018, 07:59 AM

Mazda's success in Australia must be a real kick in the balls for Ford,
they had all of that potential to partner on vehicles and threw it away...

BAWITHLOT · 16-09-2018, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hackney

It is the only way that they can survive,by multi-franchising.The local Ford dealer in my area also sells MG,KIA & Isuzu ute.Cheers

Even here in the big smoke, the dealers are selling every brand. What is does do is allow you to almost check every model at the one place!

hackney · 16-09-2018, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BAWITHLOT

Even here in the big smoke, the dealers are selling every brand. What is does do is allow you to almost check every model at the one place!

It is all about survival.You cannot rely on one brand alone ie: Ford or Holden.Gone are those days of the big three.Cheers

jpd80 · 16-09-2018, 01:33 PM

and with the right mix of car franchises, it means that a dealer group can capture a broad
range of buyers without really competing with each other, the combined sales is usually
better than would be the case if they were separate free standing dealerships.

Survival yes but also smart in that dealership groups are becoming more like supermarkets.

EBSXR6 · 16-09-2018, 02:33 PM

I was talking to a mate the other day and GM pulled the pin on the dealer in the town where he lives and the Dealer was a top level Master dealer. There is one new car dealer in the town and the farmers are all buying their utes from that dealer.

We were talking about the future of Car Dealerships and he thinks the days are numbered.
People will buy online and the dealers will be a service centre, with a few cars in stock for a test drive.

LeadFoot81 · 16-09-2018, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpd80

Mazda's success in Australia must be a real kick in the balls for Ford,
they had all of that potential to partner on vehicles and threw it away...

How's Mazda doing in the US, Europe and even their home market though?

I'd say it'd be much of a muchness for Ford if they had partnered with them, even though the Mazda range is pretty good overall.

Franco Cozzo · 16-09-2018, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EBSXR6

I was talking to a mate the other day and GM pulled the pin on the dealer in the town where he lives and the Dealer was a top level Master dealer. There is one new car dealer in the town and the farmers are all buying their utes from that dealer.

We were talking about the future of Car Dealerships and he thinks the days are numbered.
People will buy online and the dealers will be a service centre, with a few cars in stock for a test drive.

There is a Ford service center for Bayford in North Melbourne, its not a full dealership just an official workshop.

jpd80 · 16-09-2018, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeadFoot81

How's Mazda doing in the US, Europe and even their home market though?

I'd say it'd be much of a muchness for Ford if they had partnered with them, even though the Mazda range is pretty good overall.

Merely commenting on the Australian situation where sales have really kicked on,
there's something quirky about mazda's range and Aussie tastes that seem to match up...

**GO FURTHER** · 16-09-2018, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EBSXR6

I was talking to a mate the other day and GM pulled the pin on the dealer in the town where he lives and the Dealer was a top level Master dealer. There is one new car dealer in the town and the farmers are all buying their utes from that dealer.

We were talking about the future of Car Dealerships and he thinks the days are numbered.
People will buy online and the dealers will be a service centre, with a few cars in stock for a test drive.

Here's an idea for an enterprising company or person...

You open a "new car supermarket" as a broker and partner with the big dealerships for every brand of mass-produced car on the Australian market.

You set up a huge showroom in an area where there are not many new car dealerships represented. Every new popular car... Under one roof.

The partnering car dealerships supply a new demo car of each model on consignment, so little expense in financing the cars for your showroom.

Basically, the advantage for them is you are selling their cars in an area they are not located, so expanding their customer base geographically.

Consumers can then come to your new car supermarket, test drive the cars, and once they decide on the one they want with all the options, you then organise the deal at the best price through the partnering dealerships and receive a decent commission for broking the deal.

That way, the car makers can't get upset, as you are not actually selling the new cars directly, just acting as a sub-agent or broker.

The idea could also be expanded to include different automotive services and fitting of aftermarket parts, So a complete "One stop shop" for everything automotive.

**PG2** · 16-09-2018, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EBSXR6

I was talking to a mate the other day and GM pulled the pin on the dealer in the town where he lives and the Dealer was a top level Master dealer. There is one new car dealer in the town and the farmers are all buying their utes from that dealer.

We were talking about the future of Car Dealerships and he thinks the days are numbered.
People will buy online and the dealers will be a service centre, with a few cars in stock for a test drive.

This was being discussed when I worked for a big multi-brand franchise back in the late 90s early 00s.

Essentially one person working the floor and and ordering your car through a menu - similar to McDonalds.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GO FURTHER

Here's an idea for an enterprising company or person...

You open a "new car supermarket" as a broker and partner with the big dealerships for every brand of mass-produced car on the Australian market.

You set up a huge showroom in an area where there are not many new car dealerships represented. Every new popular car... Under one roof.

The partnering car dealerships supply a new demo car of each model on consignment, so little expense in financing the cars for your showroom.

Basically, the advantage for them is you are selling their cars in an area they are not located, so expanding their customer base geographically.

Consumers can then come to your new car supermarket, test drive the cars, and once they decide on the one they want with all the options, you then organise the deal at the best price through the partnering dealerships and receive a decent commission for broking the deal.

That way, the car makers can't get upset, as you are not actually selling the new cars directly, just acting as a sub-agent or broker.

The idea could also be expanded to include different automotive services and fitting of aftermarket parts, So a complete "One stop shop" for everything automotive.

Unless things have changed...

Under a dealers licence agreement you cannot display cars outside your location. There are exemptions whereby you can display cars at exhibitions etc but you can not put cars in another location where business is conducted.

You will find that car makers have these sort of rules as well and were implement just to stop that sort of stuff you mentioned above from happening.

**GO FURTHER** · 16-09-2018, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PG2

Unless things have changed...

Under a dealers licence agreement you cannot display cars outside your location. There are exemptions whereby you can display cars at exhibitions etc but you can not put cars in another location where business is conducted.

You will find that car makers have these sort of rules as well and were implement just to stop that sort of stuff you mentioned above from happening.

So I guess the way around this would be for the new car supermarket broker to buy the demo cars at trade price from the partnering dealers, then sell them off as used, when new models are released.
That way the dealers no longer officially own them so can't be guilty of displaying them outside their assigned regions.

**PG2** · 16-09-2018, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GO FURTHER

So I guess the way around this would be for the new car supermarket broker to buy the demo cars at trade price from the partnering dealers, then sell them off as used, when new models are released.
That way the dealers no longer officially own them so can't be guilty of displaying them outside their assigned regions.

The issue you have with brokers is that they have to buy the cars off dealers anyway. Brokers buy cars off dealers at effectively retail/ABN/small business prices. Unless something has changed, car makers don't give extra dealer bonuses for car brokers.

As a result, brokers work on very small profit margins. They can't very well advertise to come to them to get a great deal and then charge much more than a dealer would.

Because car brokers work on such small margins they would not be able to absorb the costs of having half a dozen demos sitting out the front depreciating. They also would have to pay someone for all of the associated costs of detailing the cars and general maintenance.

Then there would be the added cost of staff organising test drives etc and spending time with the clients going through all of the features within the car. You would also have to spend money on training staff in product knowledge (let's not get into the argument of the standard of product knowledge that current salespeople have).

Not trying to burst your bubble mate but if this was all possible and there was a dollar to be made there would be plenty of ex-car dealers/salespeople out there doing it.