GM Asia Pacific chief, Nick Reilly, has confirmed Holden will look to build another model range alongside Commodore in Australia.

While Reilly's news that turbodiesel and hybrid versions of Holden's large car are on the way might have received the widest coverage (more here), the GM Group Vice President and President GM Asia Pacific also discussed the likelihood of the carmaker adding to its production portfolio during a media briefing earlier this week.

According to Reilly, while it's early days (especially for the G8 in the USA), demand in Holden's export markets for the Commodore and its derivatives is likely to remain strong. This should cement production of the car here for the medium term.

He suggests, however, the manifest change in the Australian car market may dictate Holden builds a smaller car Down Under.

"[Due to the segmentation changes] We're certainly looking at offering a different portfolio [of models] -- which we've already started to do," Reilly explained.

"What we manufacture [locally] doesn't necessarily follow exactly what we offer [locally] and we don't have to change the manufacturing [mix], because we are now up to nearly 50 per cent exports. However, in the longer term, one likes to think that you are manufacturing to suit the domestic market and that has clearly changed.

"In my view that [market segmentation] change is not going to be reversed and, in fact, may even go further than it has already. So, longer term, I think we do need to consider what we manufacture here."

According to Reilly the company has "no plan today" to commence production of another vehicle line. He says, however, that GM Asia Pacific's "longer term" planning will require a decision to be made sooner rather than later.

"I would like to make that decision [on manufacturing mix at Holden] in the next, probably, two to three years, not really before that... [We can't do it yet] Because we have to also know what the long-term outlook is, for the current [Commodore-based] products we produce here, in our export markets... Are they going to stay with those products, or are they going to stay with [other Commodore-derived] Holden sourced products, or not. Those decisions are made globally in GM and probably won't be made for another two to three years," Reilly explained.

The decision on exactly what model Holden might produce would be dependent on a number of factors, Reilly said. Though the strong Aussie dollar would be a factor in the decision, the competitiveness (efficiency) of local suppliers would play a larger part, he suggested.

The model could potentially replace one currently built in Korea, or further afield (such as the upcoming Opel Insignia, pictured).

"I think the first thing we would do is we would look to see what is going to be a good volume down here; what possibly we might be able to export from here, too -- if it was the same vehicle [as built in other parts of the globe]...

"We would make a choice on what we were going to do here based on what the market wants. And so if that happened to be something that was produced in Korea or elsewhere, then we'd stop producing it up there and make it down here.

"It could be, though something that is not produced there [Korea] already. [But] the fact that it may be coming in from Korea today would not stop us from producing it here," he explained.

Reilly said the product would not necessarily need to be a 'premium' variant for it to be built profitably. He stated GM builds small cars profitably, suggesting the same could be said for Holden.

An additional model range at Elizabeth would parallel Ford's move to build Focus and derivatives alongside Falcon and Territory. Like the Blue Oval's new local boss, Bill Osborne, Reilly doesn't see Holden exiting the large car manufacturing business any time soon.

Reilly says the prospect of a new model range is not an either/or situation. He says Holden's Elizabeth facility can build a small car alongside a 'traditional' Australian large car.

"[Elizabeth can build] Both... I don't see us getting out of the traditional large car," he opined.

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