HOLDEN – THE FINAL COFFIN NAIL

GM SUBSIDIARY ACDELCO MOVES IN TO TAKE A BITE OUT OF WHAT’S LEFT OF THE ONCE-MIGHTY LION BRAND

What the rebranding of Holden service centres to ACDelco really means

THE HOLDEN name is becoming closer to extinction in Australia as General Motors seeks to start up a new offshoot business which will eventually take over from the remnants of the lion and stone.

After the withdrawal of Holden from the Australian marketplace at the start of the year, only its service centres remain as a reminder of what was once the most successful local brand Down Under.

While General Motors still has an affiliation with the Holden service centres, it is beginning the process of putting distance between it and its former manufacturing arm by opening separate service centres under the ACDelco brand.

An amalgamation of AC spark plugs and Delco spare parts, the General Motors subsidiary isn’t new to Australia, having sold batteries and other genuine items through suppliers over recent years, but a recent push has seen dedicated bricks-and-mortar stores turn up.

Its first standalone pilot store opened in June on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in Maroochydore as a toe-in-the-water exercise to see whether the relatively new branding will take in the Australian market.

Although it is understood Holden service centre operators are being encouraged to move under the ACDelco banner, a spokesperson for General Motors told Wheels the two entities are separate for now.

“GM Holden Aftersales commissioned an ACDelco pilot store, which opened in Maroochydore in June 2021,” the spokesperson said.

“This is separate to the Holden Certified Service network which is still

one of the most extensive in Australia and NZ, and will be here for many years to come to support the 1.6 million Holden vehicles still on the road.”

The appeal for General Motors comes from positioning its ACDelco service centres as a network which isn’t brand-specific, catering for all makes of vehicles as a rival servicing business to the likes of MyCar, Ultratune and Midas.

“In addition to selling ACDelco parts to the public for all different makes and models of vehicles, the ACDelco store will also offer servicing for most makes and models,” the spokesperson said.

“The ACDelco pilot store is an opportunity to ascertain customer engagement.

“We’re interested to see the results of the pilot store, and those of any other initial stores which might be established in the short term in order to develop a long term all makes strategy.”

Reading between the lines, it’s clear General Motors wants to move away from the history of Holden – but needs to keep some form of local presence to fulfil warranty obligations and at least partially ride on the coat-tails of the brand which was synonymous with Australian motoring for so long.

With General Motors Specialty

Vehicles taking over the importing of GM-built cars from 2019, the move to ACDelco branding for its service centres would all but kill off the

Holden name in Australia.

At present, there are around 120 former Holden dealers in the country with just over 200 sites between them, each having signed an agreement to continue operating under the Holden Certified Service banner to provide authorised servicing and genuine parts.

Holden service centre operators are being encouraged to move under the ACDelco banner