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Chevrolet Niva concept uses Holden input


Bound for Russia, Chevrolet's Niva comes from GM's key concept builder: Holden. 

The original Lada Niva was a donkey. Great for farm chores but not much else. This new one, conceived with help from Australia, is a very different animal. It's the start of a joint program between Chevrolet and AutoVAZ to create a 21st-century SUV suitable for rough-and-tough driving in Russia.

The Niva concept is almost certain to go into production, looking just as it did when it emerged from the Holden design studio at Fishermans Bend for its debut at the Moscow motor show.

The Niva is the latest in a string of concept cars either influenced or built by the Australian design team, most recently the baby Chevrolet Adra SUV concept for the Dehli show in India earlier this year.

“It's a Chevrolet Niva. It's a joint venture between Chevrolet and the owners of the Niva brand," says GM Australia design boss Richard Ferlazzo. Just as importantly, he says the Niva shows the design team at Holden still has a key role to play when local manufacturing ends.

“A strong part of our business going forward continues to be building these sort of properties. Sometimes they are internal cars for the US or somewhere else, and sometimes they are public cars for shows and things. There are always one or two going at any time," Ferlazzo says.

Holden is not claiming credit for the Niva concept but, he says, local designers were part of the team that did the design work and construction.

“Ondrej Koromhaz, one of our Australians on assignment in China, was the lead designer, together with another group in Italy. He had a heavy involvement," Ferlazzo says.

“As part of the GM aspect, he got the gig to help out. They wanted a vehicle for the show."

“Our job was to fabricate it. (Holden) being the only ones outside of Detroit who can do it, Chevy came to us to build it. It's a nice model. It's part of our business." Ferlazzo says the Fishermans Bend studio has an ongoing role in GM's global design, steered by Mike Simcoe, formerly Holden's chief designer and now GM global design director. 'Under Mike, we mentor the Indian studio and Korea." But it's not just the shapes of the future that are coming from Holden, as the fully equipped studio can handle any work from opening sketches through to final assembly.

“There are 15 full-time fabricators. Approximately 20 people worked on the Niva," Ferlazzo says.

“It took a number of months. So the team can vary, because it's not a constant thing." He says its rewarding to be working on the future of motoring, even if some of the results never go public.'Sometimes the concepts are precursors and sometimes they are just for internal research."