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General Motors has again turned to China for its new Chevrolet Captiva, now an electric SUV for markets including South America and the Middle East.
The much-maligned Holden Captiva might be long deceased, but General Motors (GM) has persisted with the nameplate in Australia’s absence, and will now bring an all-electric version to emerging global markets.
To be sold in South America, Africa, and the Middle East, the new Chevrolet Captiva shares the same underpinnings as China’s Wuling Starlight S, but key details like outputs and battery size are yet to be disclosed.
However, the donor car is fitted with a 150kW electric motor that drives the front axle, and features a 60kWh lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery for a 510km range rating based on the CLTC standard.
The Wuling Startlight S is also available as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), but it remains unclear if the petrol-electric powertrain will also be offered under the Captiva name.
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From the outside, the 2025 Chevrolet Captiva EV looks nearly identical to its Wuling counterpart, save for the bow-tie and slightly tweaked front bumper.
While the Captiva, badged as a Holden, was discontinued in Australia in 2018 after 12 years on sale, the nameplate continued with a second-generation model based on the Chinese Baojun 530 in a joint venture between GM, SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation), and Wuling Group.
Production of the second-generation Captiva is sourced from China for the Middle East and South America, and briefly from Indonesia for export to Thailand where it was on sale for less than six months.
The electric Captiva is undergoing final testing before rolling out to global markets later this year, but the nameplate is unlikely to ever grace and Australian showroom again.
Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.
