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When contemplating whether this is significant or controversial, it's useful to note that while Tesla are choosing to ignore RHD for low volume luxury products,
by simondotau 3y ago
When contemplating whether this is significant or controversial, it's useful to note that while Tesla are choosing to ignore RHD for low volume luxury products, General Motors chose to abandon RHD entirely, globally, across their entire product line, and across all sub-brands.
In the UK, GM's brand was Vauxhall Motors. They sold that to PSA Group which in turn merged into Stellantis.
In Australia, GM's brand was Holden Motors. They didn't even sell it to anyone, they just shut this iconic brand down.
- rsynnott 3y agoIs GM really trying to operate in markets outside the US anymore, tho? They seem to be effectively out of Europe, certainly.
- tibbydudeza 3y agoNo more small cars or sedans - just SUV's and US trucks.
- threeseed 3y agoNot sure how it is relevant. At least in the case of Holden it was specifically because the Australian government decided to stop subsidising the companies operations which was unprofitable otherwise. And so it was driven from that decision and not a change in strategy from GM.
- simondotau 3y agoIt's entirely relevant. In the case of Holden, the end of domestic subsidies wasn't a factor in GM's decision to exit RHD. With a historical lens it's obvious that GM's decision to exit RHD occurred prior to the moment when the Australian Government announced the end of manufacturer subsidies. What it did is change Holden's fate. With subsidies still in place, GM might have been able to find a buyer for Holden as they did Vauxhall. Without subsidies, all they could do is gut and strip the domestic Holden corporation of any remaining cash and assets.
- MichaelZuo 3y agoThey could still have found a buyer for Holden, without subsidies, for a nominal $1.
- simondotau 3y agoHolden were, post-subsidies, little more than a domestic marque for imported GM vehicles, and GM were no longer making RHD vehicles. They were a car company which didn't make any cars and had nothing to import. The brand assets are all that remains, and they're worth a lot more than $1. Once all of Holden's warranty/consumer law obligations are fully exhausted, it might be of interest to someone like SAIC or Geely who could repeat what was done to famous British marque MG Motor. Perhaps in a decade, a Chinese automaker will try their luck with a Holden Commodore Sandman EV.
- ggm 3y agoThe market for RHD is really large. Deciding not to target it has massive longterm consequences for any company. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-_and_right-hand_traffic https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-_and_right-hand_traffic Noting it uses LHT and RHT which is inverse to driver side.
- mixdup 3y agoI would say that map indicates dropping LHT is not that big of a deal. The only markets of consequence are the British Isles, Japan, Australia/New Zealand, and India India is large population but if I recall correctly a pretty insular market where it's hard for outside companies to operate as well as fairly low income per capita. And Japan is a big car country, but dominated by their domestic manufacturers
- entropicgravity 3y agoAnd then there's Indonesia which has 200m people. Though to be fair Indonesia is prioritizing scooters more than cars (as is India).
- masklinn 3y ago> In the UK, GM's brand was Vauxhall Motors. They sold that to PSA Group which in turn merged into Stellantis. GM mainly sold Opel, Vauxhall just came along for the ride as GM had joined the two at the hip back in the 70s. The reason for the sale is that they didn’t make money out of Opel, and Brexit further put a hole in it (by increasing the cost of importing Opel parts to the UK to build Vauxhalls). RHD had basically nothing to do with it.
- tibbydudeza 3y agoThe Aussie market is too small to support a bespoke RWD V8 sports sedan as the Australians preferred (Holden Commodore and Falcon) - the govt did not want to support either Ford/GM anymore.
- nikau 3y agoAussies were already moving away from RWD V8s to eurotrash diesels.
- fomine3 3y agoAccepting orders and cancel after over a year is terrible business. Ignore from the beginning is far better.
- TheLoafOfBread 3y agoMaybe it is time to start driving on correct side of the road.
- simondotau 3y agoI agree, but I doubt America would ever change to RHD.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]