Is this the long-awaited spiritual successor to Holden Commodore SS? Chevrolet to replace Camaro with new electric sports sedan: report

Could a replacement for the beloved Holden Commodore SS finally be on the way?

Filling the void left by the Holden is no easy task. The Australian-made sedan became a staple in driveways around the country for decades, and by the end it was seen as a world-class sports sedan, especially the V8-powered SS and SS-V models.

While the likes of the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger have taken the place of the Commodore in terms of sales, the utes don’t offer the same kind of appeal.

Chevrolet could be poised to change that, with reports emerging from Detroit that the American giant is preparing to introduce a new all-electric sports sedan by the middle of the decade.

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This unnamed new model is set to replace the Chevrolet Camaro in 2024 as part of General Motors’ transition towards an electric future.

Automotive News reports that GM is set to radically overhaul all of its current models, particularly Chevrolet, with the Camaro and Malibu set to be phased out and replaced by the new battery-powered sedan.

It’s a move that makes sense for a variety of reasons, not least of all the fact that the Australian-made Commodore was often referred to as a ‘four-door Camaro’ when it was sold as the Chevrolet SS in the US market.

It also makes sense as passenger-car sales continue to decline in America, so adding a high-performance electric model to replace both the Camaro and Malibu - and give Chevrolet a rival for the likes of the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan - is a logical move. 

The new model would likely sit on GM’s modular Ultium EV platform that has debuted underneath the GMC Hummer but will be able to offer flexibility across a variety of models of different sizes.

Given the Hummer is capable of making up to 745kW (1000hp), ensuring this new sports sedan is fast enough to compete with existing performance cars shouldn’t be a problem.

The demise of the Camaro has been expected for some time, but there’s still uncertainty about when it will be officially culled.

There have been mixed reports with some suggesting it will be dropped after the 2023 model year, while others indicate the current sixth-generation Camaro will live on until 2026; which would mean it would run alongside the new sports sedan for two years.

Either way, by the middle of the decade, the American muscle car scene will look very different. Ford began the radical transition of what’s classified as an American hero model with the launch of the Mustang Mach-E, an electric SUV. Dodge has recently confirmed it will follow down the path of electric performance, launching what it is calling an ‘eMuscle car’ by 2025.

While it’s far too early to know if this new Chevrolet electric sports sedan will make it to Australia, GM Speciality Vehicles would be wise to consider it given nothing has yet to replace the hole left by the Holden Commodore in Australia’s automotive heart.