Holden to Build More V6 Engines

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Increased global demand has Holden ramping up its Port Melbourne engine operations.

A jump in demand for its global V6 engine has car maker Holden scrambling to fill holes in its Port Melbourne engine assembly line.

Company spokeswoman Emily Perry said increased demand from countries including Mexico, China and South Korea would add an extra 6500 engines to the factory's output over the next six months.

Holden, which is owned by US car-making giant General Motors, supplies engines to other GM divisions worldwide.

The extra order of engines include a direct-injection 3.0-litre V6 destined for GM's Chinese car-making division, a 3.2-litre V6 for the Captiva soft-roader built at the Daewoo factory in South Korea, and a turbocharged 2.8-litre for the US-market Cadillac SRX, made in Mexico.

Ms Perry said Holden was filling 14 positions on its engine assembly line on six-month contracts to meet the demand. Four positions have already been filled by employees temporarily relocating from Holden's Elizabeth car-making operations in South Australia.

She said the contracts would be reviewed after four months when the company had a better idea of long-term demand for the engines.

Holden also confirmed today that it will continue building engines for Swedish car maker Saab, which this week re-started production of its vehicle assembly line under its new Dutch owner, Spyker.

GM sold off Saab to the highest bidder as part of its process of recovering from bankruptcy. Bids for the Swedish car maker included an offer of $US1 from formula one supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who argued that closing Saab down would cost GM as much as $US145 million.

The turbocharged 2.8-litre V6 is also built for GM's European car-making division, Opel, which fits it in the Insignia mid-size passenger car.

The move is a welcome one for Holden after years of uncertainty and job-shedding that has resulted in the closure of its four-cylinder engine making.

Holden spent $400 million developing its Port Melbourne engine plant in 2003, lifting output to 240,000 engines a year.

The extra demand for V6 engines is expected to boost Holden's output to 105,000 units this year.