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The successor to today's VE is under development at Fishermans Bend and construction of the first road-ready prototypes began last week.
The project is costing more than $200 million and is focussed primarily on efficiency, including major weight reduction and engine improvements, although owners can also expect much bigger external rearview mirrors and significant body changes.
Confirmation of the VF program comes following a firestorm over the future of the Holden Commodore, which was lit and fanned by representatives of the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia. It claimed there would be major job losses at GM Holden as there was no confirmed future for the homegrown Commodore beyond 2014.
However, Holden's chairman Mike Devereux vigorously denies the claims and hits back by revealing previously-secret details of the VF. "The 2014 Commodore is designed and engineered here. It is being engineered right now. We started building prototype vehicles in Port Melbourne two days ago," Devereux says last Thursday.
The prototypes will be headed straight into test and development work based at Holden's proving grounds at Lang Lang, south-east of Melbourne. The cars are the first solid proof that the Commodore has a homegrown future until at least 2018, as the upcoming VF will have a four-year life expectancy when it takes over from today's VE.
But Holden stops short of confirming anything for the car that will follow the VF. It says it needs to do more research on future sales and technology trends in Australia and overseas - as well as the potential for financial assistance from the Federal government - before making decisions on the next major investment by the brand.
"No, we haven't made a decision on what we will build in Adelaide post our current range and post model-year 2014, I won't speculate on the timing," Devereux says. "What we are going to make hasn't been decided yet. It's still too early."
It's most likely that the car beyond VF will be an Australian tweak on one of GM's world cars, most likely smaller overall than the traditional Commodore but with similar interior space.
The biggest question mark for Commodore traditionalists, the continuation of rear-wheel drive, is unlikely to be answered for at least three years but everything points towards a front-wheel drive move with all-wheel drive available for people who need extra hauling capacity.
Ford Australia is moving the same way with the successor to the current Falcon, with consistent pointers from Detroit towards a local clone of the top-selling American Taurus for the next-generation Falcon.
