Holden Set To Relaunch Slow Selling Viva

[JoeT]

Vague Viva

Byron Mathioudakis
15 June 2006
www.goauto.com.au

GM Holden is set to relaunch its Viva range in the next few weeks after conceding that the South Korean-sourced small-car range had not sold as well as it had envisaged and was suffering from a lack of "name recognition".

At the Viva launch in October last year, Holden forecast it would sell 17,000 units in 2006, or just over 1416 units a month. However, the latest VFACTS industry figures show that Holden’s monthly rate with the small car (to May 31) has been well down – 955 units a month, for 4776 units year-to-date.

Combined with the 8209 AH Astra sales to the end of May, Holden’s small-car YTD total is 12,985. This compares to 2005 YTD figures of 14,155 for the European-sourced TS Astra Classic/AH Astra.

Holden chairman and managing director Denny Mooney said he was disappointed at the Viva’s less-than-stellar sales performance.

"I was hoping for it to be a little better," he told GoAuto. "The issue we have with Viva is as much about name recognition as anything else.

"The old Astra Classic had a lot of name recognition. There was a lot of brand equity in Astra, so we knew when we made the name change to Viva that we were going to have a challenge getting name recognition."

Mr Mooney hinted that Holden was about to embark on a massive advertising campaign to lift the Viva’s profile.

"We had an advertising campaign out early, and we haven’t been out on air for a while, so we’re going to keep working getting the name out there," he said.

"A lot of people out there don’t know what a Viva is ... so we have got a little bit of marketing to do."

Holden will make sure the Viva is not forgotten by the record number of light- and small-car buyers that the model straddles in price, if not in size.

"Expect for the rest of the year (for us to) hit the airwaves ... to have Viva focused in the advertising," Mr Mooney said. "We have people coming in looking at the Astra...

"(Yet) the Viva is at a better price point, and I think it’s better value.

"It doesn’t have the content or the reputation of the Astra, but we've got to get people in there looking for it."

Mr Mooney revealed that this was the "number one challenge" facing Holden in the four-cylinder market context.

"People still look at us as a full-sized car company ... as the ‘Commodore Car Company’.

"We’ve still got to work on somebody who is thinking of buying a small or light car to buy a Holden, because that isn’t historically where our strength has been."

The Holden boss said he was not worried that consumers would forget about the Viva or Barina as the new VE Commodore publicity juggernaut got underway around the time of its expected launch late in August.

"I think any kind of publicity is good," he said.

"We will be doing a lot of advertising, and there will be a lot of publicity certainly around the new Commodore ... but that will be good for all our car lines.

"In fact I expect to see a lift in all our car lines, quite honestly."

Slow seller: Holden admits Viva suffers from a lack of "name recognition"

[paul8488]

I've never driven the old Astra, but I suspect it's as nice a ride as the Viva if not nicer. It's tough asking people to downgrade, even for a lower price. Add to that the fact that the car does nothing any better than any of the competition and has no name recognition and it's not surprising that it's not doing very well. Maybe giving it the Astra name would have been a bad idea, but there's a lot to be said for continuity, especially when a name is still respected!

[Stormin]

Originally Posted by paul8488

I've never driven the old Astra, but I suspect it's as nice a ride as the Viva if not nicer. It's tough asking people to downgrade, even for a lower price. Add to that the fact that the car does nothing any better than any of the competition and has no name recognition and it's not surprising that it's not doing very well. Maybe giving it the Astra name would have been a bad idea, but there's a lot to be said for continuity, especially when a name is still respected!

But Holden are selling the current Astra as well, so the Viva couldn't be called Astra. The old Astra would kill the Viva as far as ride quality.

[Aerodynamix]

Calling it Astra would be a no-no. Paul, how did you like the Optra5 you had back in Ontario? What were its most obvious faults/areas to improve?

[RedVee8]

Originally Posted by Aerodynamix

Calling it Astra would be a no-no. Paul, how did you like the Optra5 you had back in Ontario? What were its most obvious faults/areas to improve?

Bit of a no Brainer - of course they need to really market the thing.

Whats a Viva?

a) a brand of cleaning cloths
b) an old Vauxhall
c) a brand of corn chips
d) a brand of tissues
e) a new Holden
F) some other nondescript product found in supermarkets or $2 shops

[paul8488]

Originally Posted by Aerodynamix

Calling it Astra would be a no-no. Paul, how did you like the Optra5 you had back in Ontario? What were its most obvious faults/areas to improve?

Mentioned it in another thread, but the poor car doesn't actually have much going for it. I'd sorta have a tough time recommending it, to be honest, though I loved it. It does everything well, but nothing great. I'd buy another, but I have low standards, so my opinion doesn't count!

I DO think it looks better than almost anything in its price range, and has a really great interior. Fit and finish are impressive, though the driveline is rather sloppy. I feel like a traitor... my poor little car! A WTCC version would maybe give the car a little more life. Hmmm... imagine it with the new 260hp turbocharged Ecotec! A budget rocket!

[BBDOS CV8]

Astra's a different market - too dear for most 20's, mostly a 30-something car. Astras start at $22K. Vivas start at $18K.

Vivas I would say compete with low-mileage s/h Astras which are placed around $16-20 depending, and there's a ton of them because so many were sold. The old Astra does have a good name, and unlike the Barina ad which is snappy and had a lot of repeats, the Viva ad is pretty dumb and hasn't had much airplay.

My wife and I wouldn't look at a Viva either - she's keenly interested in the Astra hardtop Convertible, but the Viva's not aimed at 40's.

[RedVee8]

Originally Posted by BBDOS CV8

Astra's a different market - too dear for most 20's, mostly a 30-something car. Astras start at $22K. Vivas start at $18K.

Vivas I would say compete with low-mileage s/h Astras which are placed around $16-20 depending, and there's a ton of them because so many were sold. The old Astra does have a good name, and unlike the Barina ad which is snappy and had a lot of repeats, the Viva ad is pretty dumb and hasn't had much airplay.

My wife and I wouldn't look at a Viva either - she's keenly interested in the Astra hardtop Convertible, but the Viva's not aimed at 40's.

I mentioned before, but my wife and I compared the Viva with the Astra. We decided to buy the Astra. Then again, we aren't kids either.
My daughter will learn to drive in a year or two and I think the Viva hatch would be ideal for that market, the first car for teenagers / early 20's.

[rsbaker]

I'm concerned that the quality of the Korean product at GM is sub-par in terms of design and performance compared to GM product from either Europe Or North America. We first read that the Aveo did poorly in crash testing and now this story about the Viva not being particularly significant in the market in any way. Perhaps GM should use the Korean Production capacity to build its best models for world export instead of trying to use the un-impressive Daewoo designs.

[DanCBJMS1988]

Think - yes we might complain about the GMDATs right now, but look at the future:

1. GMDAT will gain responsibility for the Gamma platform, so it will be likely that Aveo and Corsa will be on same platform.
2. The next Epica (after the Tosca) will probably be based on Epsilon II, just like how the next Optra will probably be on Delta II.

Thus, in the short term, yes some people might get shoddy GMDATs, but in the long run this is a good strategy. If you don't believe me, then how's this: the Daewoo Winstorm will most likely be imported to ANZ as the Holden Captiva, and if the G2X is OK'ed by Denny Mooney for Holden, who knows, we might have a Holden Solstice on Australian/New Zealand shores.

[paul8488]

Originally Posted by DanCBJMS1988

2. The next Epica (after the Tosca) will probably be based on Epsilon II, just like how the next Optra will probably be on Delta II.

Hmmm... maybe in the future, if this holds true, there can be two global versions of most GM cars (when it makes sense). That way different markets can sell one or the other or both, depending on which makes sense. For example, an Astra and Lacetti could exist, with the Lacetti being a cheaper version with its own look. Astra could be sold as an Opel, Saturn, and Vauxhall, and Lacetti could be sold as a Chevrolet and Daewoo. Having two related but different cars would give GM more choice for brands that are sold in the same market (no more Pontiac and Chevrolet twins).

[mbukukanyau]

I beleive i once saw a Soda called Viva

[Geotpf]

Originally Posted by mbukukanyau

I beleive i once saw a Soda called Viva

In the US, there is a line of paper towels called Viva.

http://www.vivatowels.com/

[paul8488]

Hey, they could do an ad with the Spice Girls song 'Viva Forever'. I suspect none of the girls are too busy these days.

[Bravada]

The video clip will portray a J200 sitting lonely in some corner of the dealer lot through different seasons of the year, while other vehicles are moving fast to eager customers, adding to the melancholic note of the song and explaining the title.