Joanne Stogiannis will lead the new General Motors Specialty Vehicle (GMSV) branch in Australia and New Zealand following General Motors (GM) decision to shut down Holden in February.
Operating for almost 90 years in Australia, Holden enjoyed a plethora of success as one of Australia’s most trusted car brands.
In the coming fourth quarter of 2020, GM will begin partnering with Walkinshaw Automotive Group, the parent company to HSV.
The GMSV brand will be responsible for the Chevrolet Silverado to continue re-manufacturing the vehicles from left-to right-hand drive in Victoria. Also pegged for GMSV will be the Chevrolet Corvette which will reach Australia in late 2021.
Working at Holden for almost 17 years, Ms Stogiannis is “thrilled” to be leading a new automotive venture by GM in Australia.
“Sales of large U.S. pickups have been growing consistently and I believe the ongoing strength of that segment will provide a very solid basis for us to build a successful long-term business,” Ms Stogiannis said in a statement.
Ryan Walkinshaw, director of the Walkinshaw Automotive Group, said his business was pleased to continue its 33-year association with General Motors.
“We’re able to keep significant automotive employment in Victoria through this new business and continue to bring exciting product to market which is core to the Walkinshaw Group’s DNA,” he said.
“We’ve developed unique engineering expertise in producing OEM standard right-hand drive conversions at scale, and we look forward to working closely with GMSV in this new era.”
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