The Holden Nova is a

compact car Compact car is a vehicle size class — predominantly used in North America — that sits between subcompact cars and mid-size cars. "Small family car" is a British term and a part of the C-segment in the European car classification. However, p ...

that was produced by the

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

alliance, known as

United Australian Automobile Industries United Australian Automobile Industries (UAAI) was an automobile model sharing firm that operated in Australia between 1987 and 1996 as the result of an agreement between Holden (the Australian subsidiary of General Motors) and Toyota Australia. ...

(UAAI) in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

between August 1989 and 1996. The alliance, and therefore the car, was a result of the

Button car plan The Button car plan, also known as the Button plan, was the informal name given to the Motor Industry Development Plan, an Australian federal (Labor) government initiative intended to rationalise the Australian motor vehicle industry and transi ...

which attempted to rationalise the Australian car manufacturing industry. The Nova was sold and marketed under the Holden nameplate, although it was a

badge engineered In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a manu ...

version of the

Toyota Corolla The is a series of compact cars (formerly subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has been one of the best-selling cars in ...

, with barely any input from

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

, although they referred to it as the

GM S platform GM or Gm may refer to: Companies * General Motors, US automobile manufacturing company which was founded in 1908 ** Motors Liquidation Company, the US automobile manufacturing company known as General Motors Corporation from 1916 to 2009 * ...

. However it received minor stylistic changes. The Nova was sold as a four-door sedan and five-door

hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...

. In all years, the Nova was outsold by the Toyota Corolla in Australia, and the car was replaced by the

Holden Astra The Holden Astra is a small car formerly marketed by Holden. The first couple of generations of Astra were made only for Australia, and was a derivative of the locally produced Nissan Pulsar. With the Button car plan coming into effect, it was ...

in 1996.

First generation (LE, LF; 1989–1994)

The LE and LF series, based on the Corolla E90 were sold between August 1989 and September 1994. The LE was offered with Toyota's 1.4-litre engine (hatchback only) and 1.6-litre engine, in Holden's traditional SL (hatchback only), SLX and SLE trims. The LF Nova, available from October 1991, added

fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All comp ...

to the 1.6-litre unit, now rated at . The SLE hatchback was replaced by a GS model, although SLE continued as a trim on the sedan, then in October 1992, a fuel-injected 1.8-litre engine was offered for the GS hatchback. The 1.4-litre option and the SLEs were unavailable from 1993. File:1990 Holden Nova (LE) SLX hatchback (2015-11-11) 01.jpg, LE Nova SLX hatchback File:1990 Holden Nova (LE) SLX hatchback (2015-11-11) 02.jpg, LE Nova SLX hatchback File:1989-1991 Holden LE Nova SLX sedan 01.jpg, LE Nova SLX sedan File:1992 Holden Nova (LF) SLX hatchback (2015-07-19) 01.jpg, LF Nova SLX hatchback File:1991 Holden Nova (LF) SL hatchback (2015-11-11) 02.jpg, LF Nova SL hatchback File:1993-1994 Holden Nova (LF) SLX Limited sedan (16928316316).jpg, LF Nova SLX Limited sedan

Second generation (LG; 1994–1996)

The LG Nova was sold between 1994 and 1996, although a smaller range was offered. The SLX trim level was equipped with a 1.6-litre engine, while the GS trim level denoted the fitment of the 1.8-litre engine. Four-door sedan and five-door hatchback options were offered for both levels, and all engines featured

. File:1994-1996 Holden LG Nova SLX hatchback 02.jpg, LG Nova SLX hatchback File:1995 Holden Nova (LG) GS hatchback (20678223615).jpg, LG Nova GS hatchback File:1996 Holden Nova (LG) GS sedan (2015-06-18) 02.jpg, LG Nova GS sedan

References

{{Holden timeline

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

Cars introduced in 1989 1980s cars 1990s cars Toyota Corolla