Crunch time for Holden's Korean cars

Holden's incoming boss Mark Reuss has suggested the local car maker was wrong to source the Barina from Korea instead of Europe, promising that the next-generation version will be much improved. BRUCE NEWTON reports.

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The incoming boss of Holden says the quality of the company's range of Korean-sourced small cars needs some attention.

Mark Reuss, who starts work as Holden chairman and managing director on February 1, made the admission while outlining his plans for Holden during a media conference at the Detroit auto show.

However, he also made the commitment that the next-generation Barina mini due from Korea in 2009 would be a vast improvement.

I really want to concentrate on quality as one of the very top things that I want for Holden and anything badged as a Holden,  he said.

Asked if he thought the current Korean-sourced Holdens were deficient in quality, Mr Reuss agreed: You can get into steering, brakes . . . I can go on and on and on. We sell the same car here (in the US) by the way.

The Holden Barina mini and Viva small car are based on aged designs that GM inherited when it took over Daewoo in 2002.

The Korean Barina succeeded the Opel-sourced Corsa, while the Viva is sold as an adjunct to the (Opel) Astra. Holden cited financial reasons for the change. But while both Barina and Viva are offered at rock-bottom pricing, neither has been a record-breaking seller.

The Barina has drawn additional criticism and controversy due to disastrous NCAP crash-test results, in which it merited only two stars.

Choosing his words carefully, Mr Reuss described the decision to swap away from the Corsa - which in its latest incarnation is a five-star crash performer and is rated among the best minis in the world - as interesting to me as well. I will leave it at that.

Mr Reuss said he would investigate ways of improving the quality of the current Barina and Viva, but warned there were only limited actions that could be taken.

Mr Reuss also promised the Barina's replacement will be a vast improvement: They are not (just) competitive cars, they are winning cars, he said.