The rumours are true: Holden's next Commodore will be imported from Germany.

General Motors has inadvertently confirmed the origins and details of the large car replacement at the Geneva motor show overnight.

The head of GM's Opel division, Karl-Thomas Neumann, hinted to Australian media that the Opel Insignia will be the official replacement to the Commodore, which ceases production in 2017.

"It's very soon coming," Dr Neumann said of the Insignia.

"[We will sell] as many as possible. The Australians will like this car a lot."

Neumann's comments are the first official concession from General Motors that the next-generation Insignia will be sold in Australia, and that it will replace the Commodore.

Opel Insignia spy shots Photo: Automedia

The Opel chief tempered his comments mildly when he was formally asked whether the Insignia will be exported Down Under, a question he declined to elaborate on.

The 2017 Insignia will be offered in sedan and wagon form. No V8 version will be made available, but a twin-turbocharged V6 will sit atop the line-up.

The Insignia's arrival marks a full circle return for the Commodore; the very first model released in 1978 was based on Opel underpinnings.

Opel Insignia spy shots Photo: Automedia

The development also confirms that the next Holden Commodore will be front-wheel drive, a significant departure from the long successful V8, rear-wheel drive formula.