Aussie brand Holden axed by GM
164-year-old maker dead as parent firm focuses on China
AUSTRALIA’S best-known car manufacturer Holden is to be axed by owner General Motors. It has decided to wind down all of Holden’s operations in Australia and New Zealand by 2021.
The move brings an end to a brand whose history stretches back 164 years. Originally founded as a saddle company, Holden has been manufacturing cars since 1908. It has been part of GM since 1931.
Holden enjoyed spells as Australia’s bestselling brand, and played its part in a tribal rivalry with Ford that mirrored the split between Vauxhall and Ford customers in the United Kingdom. Down Under the battle lines were drawn in motorsport, especially in the country’s most famous race, at the Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst. Holdens also made it to the UK, in the shape of flagship Vauxhalls such as the Monaro and VXR8.
However, away from the race track, sales of conventional Holdens have fallen sharply down the charts over the past two decades. The figures in 2019 were around a quarter of what they were at the turn of the century, and car-manufacturing ceased in Australia in 2017. That left a model line-up based on imported, rebadged vehicles from other GM brands, including Vauxhall.
Ditching Holden is part of a wider restructuring at General Motors. The company is investing more heavily in China and the US, and right-hand-drive markets such as Australia and the UK are no longer part of the company’s plans. To that end, GM has also pulled Chevrolet from the Thai market, and the company’s plant there will be sold to Chinese firm Great Wall. GM offloaded its European division, including Vauxhall, to Groupe PSA in 2017.
GM’s International Operations Senior Vice President Julian Blissett said: “We regret that we could not prioritise the investment required for Holden to be successful for the long term in Australia and New Zealand, over all other considerations we have globally.”
The move was significant enough in Australia to warrant a comment from the country’s Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, who said: “I am disappointed, but not surprised. But I am angry, like I think many Australians would be.”