Holden Commodore safe

An upgraded MY20 Holden Commodore will be released in Australia soon. Holden has confirmed the new model and refutes speculation the long-running nameplate will be axed.

First details and images of the facelifted Insignia, on which Holden’s current ZB Commodore is based, were released overnight in Europe by Opel and its UK sister brand Vauxhall, which are now owned by France’s PSA Group.

At the same time, General Motors announced the Buick Regal, which is also based on the Insignia but built in China, will no longer be sold in North America due to lack of demand.

That prompted one media outlet to predict the Holden Commodore will also “come to an unceremonious end about 12 months from now, bringing down the curtain on a tumultuous 42-year run”.

However, Holden told carsales the upgraded MY20 Commodore will be released soon and although, as we reported in June, diesel variants are likely to be discontinued from the new model range, the company remains committed to the imported German mid-sizer.

“Yes, Buick has confirmed that the Regal will no longer be offered in the US and Canada, but it will continue to be sold in volume by GM in China. Buick’s changes to their model line-up aren’t directly relevant to Holden,” said a Holden spokesman.

“We are in the process of introducing the MY20 and we are still selling Commodores. If anything changes in regard to Commodore we will tell you,” the spokesman stated.

Earlier this week, the same media outlet intimated the departure of Holden chief Dave Buttner after 16 months on Monday was a direct result of the company’s sliding sales, which again placed it outside the top 10 brands in November.

However, we can confirm Buttner has left Holden for personal reasons – as the company stated on Monday.

While sales of the first imported Commodore are down 37 per cent in 2019 to just 5417, that still makes it the nation’s top-selling large car by a large margin and second only to the Toyota Camry (15,520) and Mercedes-Benz C-Class (6242) when it comes to mid-sizers.

As we’ve reported, the new-look 2020 Holden Commodore brings cosmetic and technology upgrades.

These include a new front bumper, grille and headlights with next-generation IntelliLux LED technology and LED DRLs positioned at the split-level bottom instead of the top.

Holden Commodore's Euro cousin facelifted