Holden manufacturing: in a nutshell

From

origins as a South Australian saddlery in 1856, Holden went on to become a General Motors subsidiary in 1908. After being named General Motors-Holden’s Ltd in 1931, it produced its first – and Australia’s first mass-produced – car, the 48-215, at Fishermans Bend on November 29, 1948.

The Elizabeth plant opened in 1963, initially producing EJ bodies which were then sent to Woodville for paint and trim and on to Birkenhead for mechanical assembly. In 1965 the HD became the first Holden to be completely manufactured at the Elizabeth facility; in 1980 the Years in production: 69 Peak production year: 2005 tally of 153,026 (VZ Commodore) Largest market share: 50.3 percent in 1958 Peak exports: 2005 – 60,518 vehicles to 10 countries including North America and the Middle East Highest number of employees: 23,914 – 1964, at plants in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia Total production volume: 7,687,675 cars – final car – Red Hot Commodore SS V Redline manual Last Caprice – 7,687,672 – a Caprice V V8 auto in ‘Switchblade’ Last Commodore wagon – 7,687,673 – a Calais V V6 auto in ‘Son of a Gun’ Last Commodore ute – 7,687,674 – an SS V8 auto in ‘Light my Fire’ (*Subs note: not necessarily exhaustive*) Less than 50 years ago there was a Holden plant in every Australian capital… Newstead, Queensland City Road, Melbourne, Victoria Birkenhead, South Australia Cottesloe, Western Australia Marrickville, NSW Fishermans Bend, Victoria Woodville, South Australia Pagewood, NSW Acacia Ridge, Queensland Dandenong, Victoria. Mosman Park, Western Australia Elizabeth, South Australia VC became the first Commodore to roll from the Elizabeth production line.

Production volumes peaked at 780 cars per day between June 2003 and July 2005, manufactured across three shifts of 260 units. This included VY Commodore and the Adventra, Crewman, Caprice and Statesman body variants.

The Holden Commodore was the best-selling car in Australia for a record 15 consecutive years from 1996 to 2010. When it relinquished the crown to the Mazda 3 in 2011 it was a sign of the shifting buyer tastes that played their part in the demise of car manufacturing in Australia. EH – 256, 959 – launched August 1963 HR – 252, 352 – launched April 1966 VY – 241,909 – launched September 2002 VN – 215,180 – launched August 1988 VX – 211,125 – launched October 2000 First Holden – November 1948 48-215, Fishermans Bend, Vic One millionth – October 1962 EJ, Dandenong, Vic Two millionth – March 1969 HK, Dandenong, Vic Three millionth – June 1974 HQ, Pagewood, NSW Four millionth – June 1981 VC Commodore, Dandenong, Vic Five millionth – August 1990 VN Calais, Elizabeth, SA Six millionth – June 2001 VX Commodore SS, Elizabeth, SA Seven millionth – August 2008 VE Commodore, Elizabeth, SA