Holden, a subsidiary of GM in Australia, has signed a deal Shanghai General Motors (SGM) and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) to design and develop new vehicles for SGM.
As per the deal, a team of Holden engineers and designers based at the company's technical centre in port Melbourne will drive the development of at least two new vehicles for the Chinese car market based on GM global platforms.
PATAC is a 50-50 joint venture between GM and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC), which provides automotive engineering services including design, development, testing and validation of components and vehicles to SGM and its affiliates in China.
Holden chairman and managing director Mike Devereux said the company is a valuable source of expertise within GM International Operations and it is one of only seven fully-integrated design, engineering and manufacturing operations in the GM world.
"We have worked with SGM and PATAC in recent years on smaller projects, but this is the first significant, long-term project to partner our organizations," Devereux said.
"It gives the Holden workforce a great sense of pride to work on global vehicle programs like this and to see Australian design, engineering and manufacturing expertise exported around the world."
