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Holden

This article is about the automobile marque. For other uses, see Holden (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Holden (automobile), the vehicle manufactured by the company from 1948 until 1984.

GM Holden Ltd
Holden
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1856 (1856) (as J. A. Holden & Co) in Adelaide
FoundersJames Alexander Holden
(original firm)
Sir Edward Holden
Defunct31 December 2020 (31 December 2020)[1]
FateHolden marque phased out; replaced by GM Specialty Vehicles
SuccessorGMSV
Headquarters
Port Melbourne, Melbourne
,
Australia
Area served
Australia & New Zealand
Key people
Laurence Hartnett
Marc Ebolo
ProductsAutomobiles
ParentGeneral Motors
DivisionsHolden Special Vehicles (50%)
Websiteholden.com.au

Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, South Australia, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last three years, it switched entirely to importing cars. It was headquartered in Port Melbourne, with major industrial operations in the states of South Australia and Victoria. The 164-year-old company ceased trading at the end of 2020.

Holden's primary products were its own models developed in-house, such as the Holden Commodore, Holden Caprice, and the Holden Ute. However, Holden had also offered badge-engineered models under sharing arrangements with Nissan, Suzuki, Toyota, Isuzu, and then GM subsidiaries Opel, Vauxhall Motors, and Chevrolet. The vehicle lineup had included models from GM Korea, GM Thailand, and GM North America. Holden had also distributed GM's German Opel marque in Australia in 2012 and 2013.[2]

Holden was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer in South Australia. In 1898, it moved into the automotive field. It became a subsidiary of the United States–based General Motors (GM) in 1931, when the company was renamed General Motors-Holden's Ltd. It was renamed Holden Ltd in 1998 and adopted the name GM Holden Ltd in 2005.

Holden briefly owned assembly plants in New Zealand during the early 1990s. The plants had belonged to General Motors from 1926 until 1990 in an earlier and quite separate operation from GM's Holden operations in Australia. Holden's production became increasingly concentrated in South Australia and Victoria after the Second World War. However, Holden had factories in all the mainland states of Australia when GM took over in 1931, due to the combining of Holden and GM factories around the country under Holden management. In the postwar period, this decentralisation was slowly reduced and, by 1989, the consolidation of final assembly at Elizabeth, South Australia was largely completed, except for some operations that continued at Dandenong, Victoria until 1994. Engine manufacturing was consolidated at Fishermans Bend, Victoria, which was expanded to supply markets overseas.

Although Holden's involvement in exports had fluctuated from the 1950s, the declining sales of large sedan cars in Australia led the company to look to international markets to increase profitability.[when?] In 2013, Holden revealed it received A$2.17 billion in Federal Government assistance in the past 12 years, the amount was much larger than expected.[3] Holden blamed a strong Australian currency, high manufacturing costs and a small domestic market among the reasons for exit of local manufacturing.[4] This led to the announcement, on 11 December 2013, that Holden would cease vehicle and engine production by the end of 2017.[5]

On 29 November 2016, engine production at the Fishermans Bend plant was shut down. On 20 October 2017, production of the last Holden designed Commodore ceased and the vehicle assembly plant at Elizabeth was shut down.[6] Holden produced nearly 7.7 million vehicles. On 17 February 2020, General Motors announced that the Holden marque would be retired by 2021.[7] On 30 October 2020, the GM Australia Design Studio at Fishermans Bend was shut down. Holden has been replaced by GM Specialty Vehicles (GMSV), which imports the Chevrolet Silverado and the Chevrolet Corvette.[8] The parts supplier known as the Holden Trade Club was renamed GM Trade Parts. An extensive Holden service network continues to help maintain the many Holdens that remain in operation in Australia.

  1. ^ "Vale Holden: End of the road today, after 72 years". CarAdvice. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  2. ^ Campbell, Matt (2 August 2013). "Opel Australia shuts its doors". Drive. Archived from the original on 11 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  3. ^ "Holden reveals billions in subsidies". ABC News. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  4. ^ "GM's Holden to stop making cars in Australia". BBC News. 11 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Holden to cease local production in 2017". AUSmotive.com. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  6. ^ "Holden: Last vehicle rolls off production line as Australian car manufacturing ends". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 20 October 2017.
  7. ^ "Holden car brand, maker of Commodore and Barina, axed across Australia and New Zealand". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 17 February 2020.
  8. ^ Anderson, Bran (11 November 2020). "Chevrolet Silverado Lands In Australia Through GM's Specialty Vehicles Division". CarScoops. Retrieved 13 November 2020.