GM locks in GMSV brand for Australia! From Chevrolet Silverado to Corvette Stingray, this is how it will work after HSV era

GMSV is at last confirmed for an Australian launch, with GM in the USA trademarking the HSV-replacing brand name and a new logo with the Australian Government.

The move will eventually spell the end of the HSV brand in Australia, with the customer-facing aspects of the 33-year-old business expected to rebrand, while the Walkinshaw Group will continue to work on re-engineering left-hand-drive vehicles for our market.

While the details are yet to be confirmed, we expect that, initially at least, the GMSV brand will be responsible for the Chevrolet Silverado, with the talented Walkinshaw Group to continue re-manufacturing the vehicles from left- to right-hand drive in Victoria.

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We'd also expect to see at least some HSV dealerships, which are currently independent of Holden and GM, rebrand to GMSV in the near future, too.

"Walkinshaw Group has a strong history of bringing exciting vehicles to market, and in the immediate future, we will continue to do this," a spokesperson recently told CarsGuide.

"We've just launched the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, which we're delighted with, and we will continue to bring exciting vehicles to market in the near future."

The move would essentially mean Walkinshaw becomes a contracted partner of GMSV, which is expected to be owned and operated by GM in the USA.

The lingering question, of course, is what of the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray? Given that vehicle has already been confirmed in right-hand drive from the factory, Walkinshaw won't be involved in its preparation here.

Instead, GM is expected to deliver the car direct, most likely through a GMSV dealership network, straight from the factory. Holden had already confirmed the Corvette for our market, but GM's decision to shutter the iconic brand here threw those launch plans into question. But with cars leaving the factory with the steering wheel on our side, it is still likely to arrive - though it must be said, GM, Holden and HSV are all yet to confirm the model for launch.

As previously reported in CarsGuide, the Corvette has long been expected to headline the line-up for GMSV.

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At the press conference announcing the discontinuation of Holden in Australia and New Zealand, Holden interim chairman and managing director Kristian Aquilina told us there is “a possible business in the making with GM Speciality Vehicles”.

“We’re not at the point where we can announce anything about that today, but there will be some possibility to retain some staff around that,” he added.

GM international operations senior vice-president Julian Blissett then added: “We’re obviously in negotiations with our partners to make that happen.

“We’ve made some good progress so far … but the detail of what product and how we go to market is still to be confirmed.”

But with GM in the USA stamping it's ownership over the name here, it seems it's all systems go.