With the rumour mill going overtime regarding General Motors (GM) dumping their white elephant brands Opel and Vauxhall, the whispers, for once, were indeed real with the PSA Group buying the beleaguered brands for the bargain basement price of $3.1 billion AUD.
With the ink drying, it will see the PSA Group (Peugeot, DS and Citroen) become Europe's second largest automotive manufacturer behind the Volkswagen Group.
Despite GM's assurances otherwise, this will have a significant impact mid-term for local car imports, with Holden sourcing roughly 30% of its product range through the Opel/Vauxhall network.
While we will continue to see the current Astra, Acadia, plus the proposed Equinox SUV and Insignia based Commodore replacement, once these models end their production life it's unlikely Holden's association with Opel/Vauxhall will continue.
It will mean that Holden will have to turn to Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and possibly even Cadillac to fulfil the model gaps which the Opel/Vauxhall departure will create.
While there is a relatively broad selection of models and types to call upon, GM's right-hand drive lineup, sans Opel/Vauxhall, is light on. Considering we account for less than 2% of the global market, we could end up becoming the dumping ground for less desirable models.
It's also unclear how Australians will react to the American sourced products as it's now on 50 years plus since they've had any real influence on the local market.
Hey, if it means we'll get a right-hand drive Camaro, bring it on!