The Australian lineup of General Motors (GM) V8-powered models will remain unchanged in the near future, despite another right-hand drive market in the United Kingdom soon receiving a plethora of options.
GM Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) is launching in the UK, doing so with luxury car specialist Clive Sutton, and the only vehicles in its showrooms will be powered by 6.2-litre V8s.
In addition to models Australian customers are familiar with, such as the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Yukon, the UK operation is adding Chevrolet’s Tahoe and Suburban SUVs (the latter of which is related to the Yukon), as well as the GMC Sierra (a different looking Silverado).
This broader range of choice extends to Cadillac, where the Escalade will go on sale, not only across its standard guise but also the extended-length ESV and hot Escalade V.
By contrast, Cadillac’s Australian lineup – both current and upcoming – is solely electric, with the Lyriq being its first model here after launching last year, and the Optiq and Vistiq soon coming to local shores.
Importantly, Chevrolet’s Corvette supercar isn’t sold in the UK by GMSV as it is in Australia, with individual specialist dealers taking on the borderline standalone brand. Like in Australia, only the Stingray, E-Ray and Z06 are offered, with the ZR1 and ZR1X off limits for the region.
While the expanded range of GM products seems potentially enticing to Australians, the added models in the UK aren’t guaranteed a start here, due to one local loophole.
Though both Australia and the UK are left-hand traffic markets, only the UK allows the sale of new left-hand drive vehicles, providing they are homologated to comply with local regulations. In Australia, left-hand drive cars need to be at least 25 years old or put on special registration to be used on our roads.
This too means that variant options on Australian examples are often limited to one or two specifications for vehicles such as the Silverado 1500 and GMC Yukon, which are also re-manufactured from left- to right-hand drive by Walkinshaw in Melbourne’s east.
The Corvette however can be specced to a customer’s desires in all markets, given its production line in Kentucky supports both left- and right-hand drive vehicles.
Still, it’s not like GMSV is struggling to shift its Chevrolet pickups, last year being the best-selling pickup brand in Australia after delivering 4113 vehicles, ahead of Ram’s 3271.
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