The day the first domino fell for the Australian car industry
Holden was trying to rise while Ford decided to fall on a fateful day in 2013
Along time in this business, being lucky enough to represent big publications like DRIVEN, has afforded me the opportunity for a few “I was there” moments.
DRIVEN has been on the road for 10 years now. We’ve spent a lot of time reflecting how the car business has changed in the past decade.
The morning of May 23, 2013, is the date that still stands out in my memory.
It was the launch of the Holden Commodore VF, even then generally known to be the last reardrive Commodore, yet also a machine charged with pushing the brand’s manufacturing base forward.
Holden was hosting media in Canberra to drive the VF, right on the doorstep of the Australian Government as crucial debate was going on about the future of the country’s carmaking industry.
But we’d hardly had time for morning coffee when Ford Australia made a massive public announcement: it would be shutting up shop in October 2016. The timing seemed especially cruel to its long-time rival, although the company later said it was coincidental.
Holden managing director Mike Devereux was along for the launch of such an important new car and remained upbeat: “We believe it [manufacturing] can survive and has adjusted in large part already, given Ford’s relatively low production volumes.
“We have a solid plan”.
At the time Holden had a $275m
subsidy until 2022, looking ahead to two new car lines — one that was likely to be a front-drive replacement for the Commodore.
It didn’t pan out. Toyota Australia’s February 2014 announcement that it would also end local assembly in 2017 was a
further blow.
In January 2017, Holden announced it would close its factories on October 20 that year.
It then poured its heart, soul and money into “Australianising” the fully imported ZB Commodore.
On February 20, 2020 it announced the Holden brand would be withdrawn from the market for good, by the end of the year.
So in DRIVEN’S 10th anniversary year, let’s pause for a moment to consider that it’s also the first in over seven decades that we’re without an Australian new-vehicle brand on the market, and just say thanks for all the skids.