Use Holden plant to make driverless cars?

Using Holden's vehicle manufacturing plant in Adelaide as a centre for the development of driverless cars will be on the agenda when South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill meets General Motors' officials in the US.

Mr Weatherill is on a nine-day trade mission and is currently in Pittsburgh visiting Carnegie Mellon University to see the latest in its driverless car research.

He heads to Detroit later this week to discuss the future of Holden's Elizabeth plant with GM officials.

"Driverless cars have the ability to revolutionise transport in this country and South Australia is keen to be at the forefront of this change," Mr Weatherill said.

"Late last year, the first on-road trials of driverless cars in the southern hemisphere were conducted on (Adelaide's) Southern Expressway, and coincided with the state hosting an international conference on driverless cars."

Holden plans to close it manufacturing operations by the end of 2017.

It was hoped that the Adelaide plant could be taken over by Belgian entrepreneur Guido Dumarey and his Punch Corporation and continue to build cars.

But that plan collapsed recently when both Punch and GM ruled it unviable.

While in Detroit, Mr Weatherill is also expected to talk with GM about support for Holden workers who will lose their jobs, with several hundred to go in October this year when Cruze production ends followed by the rest of the assembly line workforce next year.