Holden revs exports, but it could just be the start
Extracted article by Ian Porter, The Age , Thursday April 10 2003, www.drive.com.au

Holden's export order book is defying the gloomy economic outlook as engine exports recover strongly and the company awaits a second export deal with its United States parent.
The soaring engine exports reflect improving sales of the restructured Daewoo group, now GM Daewoo Auto and Technology, and will boost local suppliers in the second half-year.

After volumes sank as low as 350 engines a day, GM Daewoo had asked Holden to ramp up supplies to around 700 a day, Holden chairman and managing director Peter Hanenberger said.

"Since we have restructured Daewoo and it is basically a 100 percent GM company, exports of cars from Korea have picked up dramatically," he said.

Holden paid $456 million for a 42.1 percent stake in GM Daewoo, and Mr Hanenberger is chairman of the revitalised Korean company.

"We will have our engine plant running at 700 a day from about July/August, which brings us pretty close to capacity."

Mr Hanenberger said he wanted to eliminate the fluctuations in demand that caused Holden to shed staff at times, only to rehire later: "I think this volume (700 a day) will be stable over the next three years."

He said Holden was working "feverishly" on its next deal with General Motors, under which a GM division is expected to put a version of the Commodore platform into production in the US.

Holden will start exporting Monaro coupes to the US in September under its first deal with the parent company, but the next deal would be more extensive, Mr Hanenberger said.

If that came off, he said, "components and products of our new Commodore platform" would also go to the US as well as the basic platform design.

"We will not only be making the design for this and developing the vehicles for building in the US, but we would also export vehicles still into the US from Australia," he said.