2009 Holden Commodore may get a hybrid drive

May 22nd, 2008

The sporty Holden Commodore performance sedan and station wagon may soon be offered featuring a real two-mode hybrid gasoline-electric drive.

GM hopes that this move will make the Australian car a better competitor to the growing crowd of Japanese hybrids.

The information was confirmed yesterday by no less than Nick Reilly, GM President Asia-Pacific who spoke to the Sydney Morning Herald.

According to the Australian news paper, GM and Holden will try to talk the federal government into offering “incentives for people to shift to more environmentally-friendly vehicles.”

This information neatly leads me to a nice speculation.

If the experiment with converting the Commodore into a hybrid vehicle proves to be successful, there is a really good chance that soon enough we will also see fuel-efficient hybrid-powered versions of the Pontiac G8, which is a rebadged version of the 2006 Holden Commodore, and the upcoming 2008 Chevrolet Camaro sports car that also shares its GM Zeta platform with the Australian vehicle.

The hybrid-powered Holden Commodore will have to compete against the Toyota Camry Hybrid, which is being manufactured in Melbourne, seriously threatening GM’s position on the local market.