The
Holden Nova was a
compact carA compact car , or small family car , is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini but smaller than or equal to a mid-size car...
that was produced by the
GM-HoldenGM Holden Ltd is an Australian automaker based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery business, but later moved into the automotive field, becoming a subsidiary of General Motors in 1931. Holden has taken charge of vehicle operations for GM in Australasia and,...
-Toyota alliance, known as
United Australian Automobile IndustriesUnited Australian Automobile Industries was a firm founded in Australia in 1989 as the result of an agreement between Holden and Toyota. For Holden, it replaced the earlier Holden-Nissan joint venture that had existed since 1983.UAAI produced three vehicles: the Holden Apollo, Holden Nova and...
(UAAI) in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
between August 1989 and 1996. The alliance, and therefore the car, was a result of the failed
Button car planThe Button car plan, also known as the Button plan was the informal name given to the Motor Industry Development Plan. The plan was an Australian Federal Government initiative, intended to rationalise the Australian motor vehicle industry. Industry consultation had begun in 1984 with a proposed...
which attempted to rationalise the Australian car manufacturing industry. The Nova was sold and marketed under the
HoldenGM Holden Ltd is an Australian automaker based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery business, but later moved into the automotive field, becoming a subsidiary of General Motors in 1931. Holden has taken charge of vehicle operations for GM in Australasia and,...
nameplate, although it was a
badge engineeredBadge engineering is a term that describes the rebadging of one product as another. Due to the high cost of designing and engineering a totally new model, or establishing a new brand , it is often more cost-effective to rebadge a single product multiple times.The term derives from the trademark...
version of the
Toyota CorollaThe Corolla is a line of subcompact/compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million sold as of...
, receiving minor stylistic changes.
The
Holden Nova was a
compact carA compact car , or small family car , is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini but smaller than or equal to a mid-size car...
that was produced by the
GM-HoldenGM Holden Ltd is an Australian automaker based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery business, but later moved into the automotive field, becoming a subsidiary of General Motors in 1931. Holden has taken charge of vehicle operations for GM in Australasia and,...
-Toyota alliance, known as
United Australian Automobile IndustriesUnited Australian Automobile Industries was a firm founded in Australia in 1989 as the result of an agreement between Holden and Toyota. For Holden, it replaced the earlier Holden-Nissan joint venture that had existed since 1983.UAAI produced three vehicles: the Holden Apollo, Holden Nova and...
(UAAI) in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
between August 1989 and 1996. The alliance, and therefore the car, was a result of the failed
Button car planThe Button car plan, also known as the Button plan was the informal name given to the Motor Industry Development Plan. The plan was an Australian Federal Government initiative, intended to rationalise the Australian motor vehicle industry. Industry consultation had begun in 1984 with a proposed...
which attempted to rationalise the Australian car manufacturing industry. The Nova was sold and marketed under the
HoldenGM Holden Ltd is an Australian automaker based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery business, but later moved into the automotive field, becoming a subsidiary of General Motors in 1931. Holden has taken charge of vehicle operations for GM in Australasia and,...
nameplate, although it was a
badge engineeredBadge engineering is a term that describes the rebadging of one product as another. Due to the high cost of designing and engineering a totally new model, or establishing a new brand , it is often more cost-effective to rebadge a single product multiple times.The term derives from the trademark...
version of the
Toyota CorollaThe Corolla is a line of subcompact/compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million sold as of...
, receiving minor stylistic changes. Unlike the Corolla, the Nova was sold only as a four-door sedan and five-door
hatchbackHatchback is a term designating an automobile design, containing a passenger cabin with an integrated cargo space, accessed from behind the vehicle by a single, top-hinged tailgate or large flip-up window...
.
In all years, the Nova was outsold by the Toyota Corolla in Australia, and from 1996 car was replaced by the
Holden AstraThe Holden Astra is a compact car that was marketed by Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors. Spanning five generations, the original, Australia-only Astra of 1984 was a derivative of the locally-produced Nissan Pulsar, as was the 1987 Astra...
.
First generation (LE, LF; 1989–1994)
The LE and LF series, based on the
Corolla E90The Corolla E90 was the sixth generation of cars sold by Toyota under the Corolla nameplate.All Corollas were front-wheel drive for 1987, with production beginning in May 1987. For general export, the trim levels are Base, XL, GL, SE, and SE Limited. The GT-i was sold in limited numbers in certain...
were sold between 1989 and 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 injectionFuel injection is a system for mixing fuel with air in an internal combustion engine. It has become the primary fuel delivery system used in gasoline automotive engines, having almost completely replaced carburetors in the late 1980s....
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.
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
fuel injectionFuel injection is a system for mixing fuel with air in an internal combustion engine. It has become the primary fuel delivery system used in gasoline automotive engines, having almost completely replaced carburetors in the late 1980s....
.