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Export revenue in 2000 exceeds $1 billion
Holden exports increased by 37 per cent in 2000, contributing $1.3 billion to Australia's balance of trade and consolidating the company's position as Australia's leading exporter of automotive products and services. By 2005, Holden predicts that its export revenue earnings will hit the $2.3 billion mark, buoyed by global sales of V6 engines to be produced at a new engine facility in Melbourne.
Vehicle exports showed the way in 2000. Holden shipped out 29,198 cars to international markets - 27 per cent more than the previous year's total of 22,965. Revenue from vehicle and vehicle component sales jumped accordingly - from $543 million in 1999 to $783 million in 2000.
Holden's four cylinder engine exports also lifted last year to 264,942 units. This total represented a 38 per cent increase over 1999 (191,815 units) and, combined with engine component exports, earned some $447 million in export revenue.
Holden's engineering expertise also brought in $80 million of export revenue, via specialist engineering services provided to support GM product programs in the Asia Pacific region and in Europe. As an example, Holden Powertrain Engineering was responsible for the design and development of a new generation 1.8 litre ECOTEC 4 cylinder engine which powers GM's top-selling Astra model in global markets such as Europe, Asia, South Africa and Latin America.
Holden Chairman and Managing Director, Peter Hanenberger said last year's attainment of close to 30,000 vehicle exports confirmed that the company was on track to achieving its 2005 target of 50,000 units annually.
"This year, we're forecasting an increase to 34,000 vehicles, which will happen as our Chevrolet-branded penetration into Middle Eastern markets deepens and as we continue to explore further opportunities in Latin America, South Africa and Asia as they present themselves," he said.
Over 2,000 units of Holden's incremental vehicle export volume last year came via police fleets in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Holden by Design fits left-hand drive versions of the Commodore and Statesman/Caprice to order with extras such as push bars, flashing warning lights, internal screens, handcuff restraints and extra wiring, and they are shipped from Holden's Elizabeth plant in South Australia as finished products.
This year Holden has already placed tenders for a similar volume of specially-fitted vehicles with the Saudi police.
In the final quarter Holden made its first shipments of SS Commodores to South Africa, Namibia and Botswana - where they sell alongside premium General Motors brands like Cadillac and SAAB.
Regionally, Holden has expansion plans for a number of Asian markets, including Indonesia, where the Commodore recently received an enthusiastic public reaction at the Jakarta Motor Show.
Chevrolet Lumina (Commodore) sedans and wagons and luxury V8-powered Chevrolet Caprice sedans (based on Statesman/Caprice) are the top-selling GM models in the Middle East. Last year, exports of Chevrolet Lumina LS sedans and wagons, LTZ and SS sedans totalled 9,400. As Holden predicted, exports of Chevrolet Caprice LS, LTZ and SS models - at 9,790 units - exceeded the domestic Statesman/Caprice total of 6,589, making this the first locally-produced Holden model to achieve higher volume internationally than it does at home.
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