Holden Cruze Hatch New Photo

American manufacturer GM is keen on making the Cruze brand one to be reckoned with, and feared (including by its other models) on the Australian market. Already confirmed as an entry on the local market by the end of the year, the Holden Cruze hatchback showed, for the first time, its sleek lateral lines late last week.

Hidden somewhere in the launch of the Cruze facelift in Australia, the photo of the hatch version, the second released by Holden, presents a model not at all different from the Chevy version of other continents. Even so, it will bring several premiers to the Australian continent, even before it gets launched.

Holden's interpretation of the Cruze hatch will be the first small car to be built in Australia in the past 12 years, showing, once again, how the market has changed in the last decade and how the taste of the consumers shifted from big to small.

The details of the hatch version of the Cruze for the Australian market were not released (that includes the pricing information), as the model is some good months away from its official entry (official launch date is October). It's likely the hatch will use the two new engines, 2.0l diesel and a 1.4l turbocharged gasoline, as well as a naturally aspirated 1.8l petrol.

The car maker has expressed both its desire and plans to make the Cruze, hatch or otherwise, a fierce competitor on the market and an archenemy of its own Commodore brand.

“When we start selling the Cruze hatch our position in the marketplace will increase,” said Mike Devereux, Holden's chairman, said a few weeks ago.