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The future of the Aussie ute appears rooted

Holden VF SSV ute

Australia moves one step closer to the loss of its automotive manufacturing sector with News Ltd reporting the Holden ute will face the axe by 2016. We already know that’s the year Ford Australia will stop making the Falcon and the long-term future of the Commodore is on shaky ground, too.

A decline in sales is the main reason for the cut, with traditional ute buyers now favouring models such as the Toyota HiLux made in Thailand where wages are a fraction of those paid in Australia.

But the real meat of the News Ltd article is this paragraph:

News Corp Australia has been told that if Holden continues manufacturing beyond 2016 it will adopt two new “global” cars, one of which is a large front-wheel-drive sedan that will not be made into a ute.

The demise of Australian icons the Commodore and Falcon is inevitable. We know that for a fact with the Falcon and it only appears a matter of timing for the Commodore, despite a boost in sales since the launch of the VF.

And we’re all responsible for their fate, by choosing to spend our motoring dollars elsewhere. In truth, neither car will probably be missed for any great length of time. It’s still a bit sad, all the same.

[Source: News Ltd | Pic: GM Corp | Thanks to Adam for the tip]

7 replies on “The future of the Aussie ute appears rooted”

People are voting with their feet. The latest breed of dual cabs (eg ranger, bt-50, amarok etc) seat 4 in comfort, drive as well as the utes, carry more cargo, tow a lot more and have as good or better fuel economy. Sure, they don’t have the performance of the V8 utes, but for most tradies or families they are better value and a better proposition.

totaly agree Robbo. These days the V8 ute is more of a pose mobile rather than a work horse. Most CUB’s who buy them would never dream of putting anything in the back and scuffing up the tray

V8 utes are stupid. The ground clearance alone is lower than my 98 Subaru outback. They are generally only driven by ‘compensators’ (sorry, but it’s true). Real tradies drive real 4x4s.

“In truth, neither car will probably be missed for any great length of time.”

I think you may underestimate the huge groundswell of popular support for the commodore and falcon, even amongst people who have never owned one.

Holden killed off the ute for a decade or so after the Commodore was first introduced. Pretty sure the sun still came up every day.

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