Holden’s globally sourced and locally tuned SUV portfolio will underpin the Lion brand’s commercial strategy in 2019, said Holden Chairman and Managing Director Dave Buttner.
Launching Holden’s new SUV-focused brand marketing campaign – This is How We SUV– Buttner said SUVs and LCVs would comprise more than two-thirds of Holden’s sales in 2019, reflecting the comprehensive overhaul of the company’s vehicle portfolio over the past 18 months and the significant change in consumer preferences.
“SUVs have replaced passenger vehicles as the dominant segment in Australia and New Zealand’s new vehicle markets, and Holden is very well positioned to grow our share of sales in this segment,” said Buttner.
“We have sourced a highly competitive range of SUVs from the global operations of GM – a world-leader in SUVs. We have also gone the extra mile, with our team at the Lang Lang Proving Ground engineering the SUV range specifically for local driving conditions. Holden’s SUVs have American DNA, fused with Aussie ingenuity.”
Buttner said investing in the Holden brand was an important pillar in the company’s plan to deliver sustainable, profitable performance for the long term.
“In my first weeks in the job, I travelled across Australia and New Zealand meeting with dealers and customers to talk about Holden. These discussions were a hugely important foundation as our Holden and GM leaders and our dealers worked together to determine our priorities for 2019,” he said.
“We also took decisive actions to position Holden for a strong start in 2019, including new investments from GM in Holden Financial Services, Maven and engineering, as well as implementing new stock management processes, better balancing our costs with our revenue and doing the hard work to address pain points for our dealers.”
Key focus areas for 2019 to drive sales and sustainable profitable performance are:
- Broaden Holden’s brand positioning to grow share in SUV and ute segments
- Fully leverage Holden’s relationship with GM, a world leader in SUVs and trucks
- Work seamlessly between HQ and the dealer network, focused on taking coordinated action to win more customers, and create more happy customers
- Deepen Holden’s connection with customers through programs like Holden Financial Services and Maven, and award-winning customer service
- Ensure Holden’s product portfolio is well targeted at consumer preferences, profitable and easy to understand.
Holden Marketing Director Kristian Aquilina said This is How We SUV was an important step in transforming a brand once synonymous only with large passenger cars, to also being a brand of choice for Aussies and Kiwis wanting to buy an SUV.
“While Holden has a 70-year history in the market, we are a challenger brand in SUVs. We have great products, many of which are entirely new nameplates for our market,” said Aquilina. “Holden is embracing the challenger mindset: offering great vehicles, sharp pricing and award-winning customer service to steal share from SUV segment leaders.”
Holden Director of Sales Peter Keley said winning new customers in SUVs, continuing momentum on Colorado, continuing to build on Holden’s strengths in passenger vehicle sales and implementing a new strategic fleet strategy that better reflected market trends would drive sales in 2019.
“We have our best-ever portfolio, we’re taking on the SUV segment leaders, we’re investing in our brand and we have an award-winning customer experience in our dealer network,” said Keley. “We have the right plan to achieve year-on-year sales growth in 2019.”