They might be our favourite new family cars but Australians are actually buying SUVs at a faster rate than they are having babies.
With nearly 441,000 sold last year, the population of SUVs grew by one every minute and 10 seconds while according to the ABS, we only added a newborn to the tally every 1 minute and 41 seconds.
And for the first six months of this year, SUVs outsold passenger cars for the first time.
And Holden is keen to cater to that ever-increasing demand (for SUVs, not babies), with the all-new Equinox landing locally by the end of the year and its bigger brother Acadia due in 2018 to join the Trax and Trailblazer.
The new five-seat Equinox will be sourced from the US (home of the original SUV), but eagle-eyed Holden fans may already spot development models on the roads as Holden engineers work to adapt the car specifically for Australian conditions and tastes.
And when it arrives, the new Equinox will have plenty to offer, with high-tech features such wireless charging, Apple CarPlay® and Android® Auto, heated and ventilated seats and the ability to park itself for those tight spots in the city.
Add to that a spacious, flexible cabin, a range of turbo engines, and front or all-wheel drive and the Equinox will herald a new dawn for Holden SUVs.
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Commodore owners are a passionate lot and Holden’s limited edition models are always a hit with fans and customers.
But when Holden offered customers of the last of the line locally-built Motorsport, Director and Magnum Special Edition Commodores to choose their very own build number, it racked up the excitement level a few more notches delivering the ultimate in personalized experiences.
Customers were invited to log onto a website and select a number of their choosing from the build run of each model, 0001 – 1200 for the Motorsport edition for example, and according to CRM manager Rich Wright, the response from customers was enthusiastic to say the least.
“One minute before the Special Edition build number selection website went live we had over 1,000 people waiting for it to open and three hours later almost 80 per cent of numbers for sold cars had been claimed.’’
This unique opportunity also garnered plenty of media attention on websites such as CarAdvice, The Motor Report and Wheels, but it was the response from customers that Holden appreciated most.
“Providing a customer experience that’s over and above all expectations is really important to us and the feedback we’ve had has been phenomenal,” Wright said.
As one happy customer who secured build number 0330 for a Motorsport Edition Commodore posted online:
“All in all I think Holden should be applauded for allowing us, the fans, a chance to personalise the car with our own build number plate. I think it was a bit of fun that no other car company in the world has done for its customers so we should be grateful for this one chance in a lifetime to be a part of history.”
