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Chevrolet is a household name in most of the world where cars are sold, but did you know a new Chevrolet hasn’t been sold in Australia since the 1980s? However, GM’s presence never left the land down under with Holden serving as its volume brand in that region for many years. With a retooling of the Holden brand currently taking place, there’s some room for Chevrolets that are right up Australia’s alley. According to The West Australian, Chevy will re-enter the Australia/New Zealand market beginning next year.
Australia traditionally prefers big, rear-wheel drive cars. One of the most popular examples of that was the Commodore which is switching from rear-wheel drive muscle sedan that we knew in the U.S. as the SS to a rebadged Opel Insignia (like the Buick Regal) which will be available in either front- or all-wheel drive.
With that in mind, GM is bringing a perfect candidate to the Australian market—the Chevy Camaro. It will be marketed as a premium muscle car only available in the 2SS trim which not only gives you a 6.2-liter LT1 V8 paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission, but also a premium interior including heated and ventilated leather seats, a head-up display, a Bose premium audio.
The other Chevy that will be offered in Australia is the Silverado pickup truck. Incidentally, only HD variants of the Silverado will be available all with four-wheel drive and all in Crew Cab form. The trucks available will be the 2500HD WT, 2500HD LTZ, 2500HD LTZ Midnight Edition, 2500HD LTZ Customer Sport Edition, and the 3500HD LTZ. All Aussie Silverados will come equipped with a 6.6-liter L5P Duramax turbodiesel V8 and an Allison six-speed automatic transmission.
So, Chevrolet in Australia will be sort of a premium performance brand down under rather than the full-line volume brand that it is here in its home market. If Australia likes the Camaro enough and if they’re lucky, maybe the ZL1 will come their way sometime soon.
