Dealer-fit kits eat into profit, report claims.
Holden might’ve thought they’d be riding on a high after releasing the Colorado Z71 Xtreme, an answer to Japanese carmaker Toyota’s recent fielding of the Hilux Rugged & RuggedX. And while they were fair in doing so given our markets’ enthusiasm over specced-up utes, they perhaps didn’t anticipate the blowback the new model’s incurred from dealers.
Rather than celebrating the arrival of a new model that’s sure to boost sales by some margin, they’re upset. Because the near-$20k worth of optional extras are all dealer fitted, and the “35 hours” it takes to fit them all is eating into their profits.
These grievances were revealed by a source to our friends at Motoring, who went on to say that the dealer-fitted options is why Holden did not definitively say how many Z71 Xtreme models will be offered, only that it’ll be a ‘limited run’ beginning October 1st, while the upgrades are subsidised by dealers.
Holden responded to the report, with Senior Manager of Product Communications Daniel Cotterill clarifying that the upgrade parts for the Colorado Z71 Xtreme, which are numerous, should only take about 24-hours per car. That, he says, is “not an unreasonable amount of time” given the number of upgrades being fitted. Cotterill was also asked why the parts weren’t fitted at the factory, and why Holden had chosen to burden its dealers with the responsibility:
“In the end, it felt better to have a General Motors technician do it, rather than have it outsourced.” — Daniel Cotterill, Senior Manager (Product Communications), Holden
At a whisker under $70k and sporting nearly $20k's worth of upgraded parts, the Holden Colorado Z71 Xtreme is one seriously tough ute. With proper off-road upgrades in terms of both capability and aesthetics, the Z71 Xtreme is one of the more macho special editions that we’ve seen of late, and is very clearly geared towards people who expect their utes to do anything and everything. Powered by the same 2.8-litre Duramax turbodiesel mill, the Colorado Z71 Xtreme is prepared to get you to where you want to go, and then get you home again, no sweat.
For the best deals on a new Holden, check out our Showroom.
