According to a recent reports out of Australia, the Holden Ute is about to be euthanized.
Holden did not confirm the news but a source told News Corp Australia that the decision was a part of the company’s plan to build two global models in Australia by the year 2020. The same source went on to say that one of them which would be quite likely the Commodore replacement and it will be a large front-wheel-drive sedan that won’t be turned into a Ute.
The Ute always had an odd appeal but sales have fallen down by as much as 31 percent to an all-time low. The slow sales has been attributed to Thai-built pickups which are cheaper to produce and can be imported without a tariff thanks to a 2010 Free Trade Agreement with Thailand.
In the first nine months of the current year, Holden has managed to sell just 4,100 models of Ute which means developing a new model unfeasible. Well the report has stated that the model will be euthanized in 2016 but the same has not been confirmed by the company officials yet.