Change of tactics
Richard Blackburn, The Sydney Morning Herald, 02/02/07
Holden’s new Epica medium car marks a turning point in the Holden versus Ford struggle, writes RICHARD BLACKBURN.
Holden Epica
The perennial battle between Holden and Ford will switch to a new front this year, with both manufacturers to re-enter the medium car market. Holden this morning unveiled its new Epica mid-sized sedan at the Brisbane motor show, while Ford is expected to announce it will bring back the Mondeo at next month’s Melbourne motor show.
With Commodore and Falcon sales at their lowest for more than a decade, both brands are keen to increase their exposure to the booming medium-car market.
The Epica will go on sale in early April, while the Mondeo is likely to be launched before the end of the year.
The Epica will be powered by the only 2.0-litre six-cylinder engine on the market.
The in-line six-cylinder 105kW engine is less powerful than its four-cylinder rivals in the segment but more fuel efficient, using just 8.2 litres/100km, compared with 9.9L/100km for the top-selling Toyota Camry. The Epica also will be available with a 2.5-litre engine producing 115kW and using 9.3L/100km. It will have a five-speed automatic only.
Holden’s fourth Korean-built vehicle is expected to be priced from $25,000 and fleets will get even sharper deals, putting added pressure on Camry sales.
The European-sourced Mondeo is likely to be aimed at retail customers and pitched against the Mazda6, Subaru Liberty and Honda Accord.
Ford refuses to confirm any details about the car, other than the fact that it is under consideration for the local market. ‘‘We are not prepared to discuss our plans for Mondeo at this stage,’’ spokeswoman Sinead McAlary says.
But it is believed Ford Australia will give the green light to the Mondeo next month. Once the announcement is made, it would be logical for the car to arrive in Australia soon after, as the new Falcon will be launched early in 2008 and Ford will not want the launches to clash.
Expect a diesel Mondeo to be part of the lineup, as a diesel version of the Falcon is still some way off. This would allow Ford to meet the growing demand for diesel engines in passenger cars.
Holden is also considering a diesel Epica.
The medium-car market is dominated by Toyota’s locally built Camry, which has long held close to half the market. In recent years, however, the Japanese-built Mazda6, Honda Accord and Subaru Liberty have benefited from the switch to smaller four-cylinder cars.
The Japanese brands are also carving out a slice of the fleet market, as more company car owners are being given the freedom to choose their own model.
Subaru has logged double-digit growth in fleet sales for the past few years.
Sales of mid-sized cars defied the downward sales trend in the second half of 2006. Since the launch of a new model Camry in August, sales of medium-cars are up by 15.4 per cent, compared with a drop of 9.2 per cent for the large-cars since the launch of the new Holden Commodore.
Holden boss Denny Mooney says the Epica will be aimed at the value end of the market.
It is built at GM’s Bupyong plant in South Korea but locally tuned by Holden engineers.
Unlike the Commodore, the Epica meets Euro IV emission standards.
The Epica range will have three models – the 2.0-litre CDX, which comes only with a manual transmission; the 2.5-litre, automatic CDX and the more luxurious CDXi automatic, which has a leather trim option.
The Epica comes reasonably well equipped, although it does not get stability control, which is a standard feature on the Commodore and Captiva soft-roader. Standard features include 16-inch alloy wheels, front and rear power windows, cruise control, air-conditioning, a six speaker CD, anti-lock brakes, traction control and front and side airbags.
The CDXi models add 17-inch alloy wheels, sports body kit, climate control air conditioning, side curtain airbags, trip computer, upgraded audio system, fog lamps and leather-wrapped steering wheel and gearshift.
Meanwhile, Mitsubishi’s plans to launch a four cylinder version of the locally built 380 sedan have stalled due to supply problems. The manufacturer had planned to buy in a four-cylinder engine from Malaysian car maker Proton.
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