Car maker Holden says it has not made a final decision about the future of the Commodore, despite union claims that the next model could be the last created in Australia.
"The issues being raised in the media today relate to decisions for new products which Australians won't see until closer to the end of the decade, and we have not finalised these decisions yet," Holden said in a statement.
The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers (APESMA) chief executive Chris Walton says management at the motoring company have indicated the model after the next version of its family car may not be created in Australia.
The Holden statement said it did not comment on enterprise bargaining agreement negotiations in the media or speculate about the long-term future models.
Holden, a subsidiary of US motoring giant General Motors, has made Australian-engineered cars since 1948.
"Senior management have confirmed it is highly likely that the 2014 Commodore will be the last one engineered in Australia," Mr Walton told ABC Radio on Thursday.
This would result in around 250 to 300 engineers losing their jobs at Holden's plant in Port Melbourne.
The chairman and managing director of General Motors Holden Australia, Mike Devereux, hosed down the union fears and said he was puzzled the APESMA would say things that were "completely untrue".
"All I can tell you is that Holden is, for example the Commodore, 100 per cent designed, engineered, manufactured in Australia today, and the next Commodore, 100 per cent designed, engineered, manufactured in Australia, for many, many, many, many more years," he told ABC radio in Melbourne.
"So I'm quite puzzled at the media frenzy that seems to have ensued from inappropriate comments from Chris Walton from APESMA frankly, on confidential conversations that we have.
"But I can uncategorically tell you that the next generation Commodore is an Australian car, we engineered and designed it in Port Melbourne, we're going to build it in Adelaide.
"And frankly I'm very confused as to why one of our close partners during the normal negotiation process would choose to talk ... about things that are completely untrue."
Mr Devereux would not say how many years Commodore would be made in Australia, as companies in highly capital intensive industries did not "tip your hand" to competitors.
"We don't talk about our future plans," he said.
"What I can tell you specifically is that it is difficult today to do things in Australia, to continue to manufacture things in Australia with the economic and political climate that we've got.
"We ... fight every single day for the right to continue to do the three things that we do here, which is one of only 13 countries that does this stuff, and that's to design, engineer and build cars.
"That's what we're working hard to do.
"I would be extremely surprised to hear somebody on your show say that we have looked them in the face and say that it's highly likely that the `14 Commodore's going to be engineered and designed overseas, because that's completely untrue."
Mr Devereux said the issues they were talking to the union about were near the end of this decade and were confidential conversations had in the course of enterprise bargaining.
"But the next Commodore, which is reported to be a model year `14 Commodore, will have a multi, multi-year life and I'm quite confused as to the tactics being taken to, frankly, slander what is a proud Australian brand," he said.
