2012 Holden Malibu Stretches Its Legs in Australia

Holden’s engineers have commenced local fine-tuning work on the all-new Holden Malibu medium sedan ahead of its launch. To show how the product is being developed for local market needs and condition, the carmaker has also released a few photos of a test mule that is still sporting the Chevrolet badge under a layer of masking tape.

Specialists from Holden’s Powertrain Engineering team are currently calibrating the Malibu for General Motors’ global markets, as well as for Australia’s unique conditions. The car will be badged as a Chevrolet in almost 100 countries around the world, but the Holden Malibu will get a badge transplant and a chassis tune-up for the home market.

The mid-size sedan has been undergoing testing at Holden’s Lang Lang Proving Ground, and these images show Malibu engineers hitting the public roads in Phillip Island, Victoria. According to the official company statement, work on the Australian Malibu will go on until the end of next year.

“Holden’s work forms part of GM’s global workshare strategy, which uses the available resources and skills of the company’s engineers from around the world to perform development work on future model cars,” Holden says.

The 2012 Holden Malibu will hit the Australian market late next year, filling a gap in the line-up between the locally made Cruze and the bigger Commodore. It will be available with a range of fuel efficient four-cylinder engines, in both petrol and diesel options. A 2.5-litre direct-injection petrol engine will be among them, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.

We already know from Chevrolet’s statement regarding the global variant that the Malibu will come with a seven-inch colour touchscreen incorporating Bluetooth audio streaming and will conceal a 15cm-deep bin for storing phones and wireless devices.