Holden (make of car)

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GM Holden Ltd.

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founding 1856
Seat Port Melbourne , Australia
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Website holden.com.au

Holden is an automobile brand owned by GM Holden Ltd , a wholly-owned subsidiary of the US automotive company General Motors , headquartered in Melbourne , Australia . Until 2017, Holden had its own production facilities and its own development department.

Product range

The model range (of the year 2013) consists on the one hand of self-developed models, the Holden Commodore and the larger Holden Caprice , both with large, front-mounted V6 and V8 engines, rear-wheel drive and different body shapes (sedan, station wagon and flatbed " Ute ") , on the other hand, from models produced by GM Korea . They are sold outside Australia under the Chevrolet brand, some with their own model names ( Chevrolet Aveo as Holden Barina , Chevrolet Spark as Holden Barina Spark ).

Earlier models came from Opel or Vauxhall , some only differed in the company logo. In Australia, for example, Holden Astra (almost identical to the Vauxhall Astra, an Opel Astra with right-hand drive) were sold. The Barina , Viva , Epica and Captiva models are based on vehicles from GM Daewoo .

Other vehicles, especially the large and luxurious ones or the pickups that seem more suitable for Australian conditions, are largely in-house developments, some of which are based on vehicles from other GM brands. So the Holden Commodore and the Statesman , Caprice and Ute based on it were developed in Australia. The first model was based on the Opel Commodore C and was further developed later.

Holden in the global GM group

The Holden Commodore was and is exported with the Chevrolet trademark to the Arab East, to South Africa as the Chevrolet Lumina and to the USA as the Chevrolet SS . The Holden Caprice formed the flagship of Buick China as Buick Park Avenue and was assembled at Shanghai GM from CKD kits imported from Australia.

Holden's technical and design development center in Melbourne is part of General Motors' global development network and also contributes to other models not only sold by Holden. The hatchback version of the Chevrolet Cruze was developed and designed by Holden. The chassis of the Chevrolet Trax was also adapted there for numerous markets outside of Australia.

Opel installs six-cylinder engines imported from Australia in its vehicles.

Holden Special Vehicles

The tuning company Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) was founded in 1987 as a joint venture between Holden and Tom Walkinshaw Racing . HSV produces and sells tuned versions of Holden vehicles. HSV versions of the Holden Commodore also as models of VXR8 -series of Vauxhall imported to the UK. VXR8 stands for eight-cylinder engines. VXR variants of the Vauxhall car models otherwise correspond to the OPC variants at Opel . HSV variants of Holden cars also compete in the Australian racing series V8 Supercars .

history

prehistory

In 1852 James Alexander Holden emigrated from Walsall in England to South Australia and in 1856 he founded JA Holden & Co. , a saddlery in Adelaide . In 1885 Henry Frederick Frost of German descent joined the business as a junior partner. Thus, from JA Holden & Co., the Holden & Frost Ltd . Edward Holden , grandson of James Holden, joined the company in 1905 and became interested in automobiles. From then on the company developed with various partnerships and in 1908 Holden and Frost turned to the business of minor repairs to automotive upholstery. In 1913 the company started manufacturing complete bodies for motorcycle sidecars and Edward experimented with building superstructures for various carriages.

After 1917, the trade restrictions caused by the war enabled the company to manufacture entire vehicle bodies. JA Holden founded a new company in 1919, Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd (HMBB), which specialized in automobile bodies and manufactured on King William Street in Adelaide. In 1923, HMBB manufactured 12,000 bodies a year. At that time, HMBB was the first company to produce bodies for Ford Australia until their Geelong plant was completed. From 1924, HMBB was the exclusive supplier of bodywork to GM in Australia, with production being relocated to the new plant in Woodville in South Australia. These bodies fitted on a number of chassis introduced by manufacturers such as Chevrolet and Dodge .

General Motors (Australia) was founded in 1926 and had assembly plants in Newstead, QLD , Marrickville, NSW , City Road in Melbourne , Birkenhead, SA and Cottesloe, WA , using HMBB bodies and imported CKD chassis. The global economic crisis caused a significant drop in production numbers at Holden; from 34,000 bodies in 1930 to just 1,651 bodies in 1931. In 1931, GM bought Holden Motor Body Builders and merged them with General Motors (Australia) Pty. Ltd. This is how General Motors-Holden's Ltd. was created. (GM-H).

1940s

The Holden 50-2106 Ute came out in 1951, three years after the 48-215 sedan .

Holden's second major automobile plant at Fishermans Bend in Port Melbourne was completed in 1936. In 1939 construction began on a new plant in Pagewood NSW . The start of automobile production was delayed by the Second World War . Initially, bodies continued to be produced, along with firearms, airplanes and engines. Before the war ended, the Australian government took steps to promote a national auto industry. Both GM and Ford presented studies to the government for the first Australian automobile. Ford's proposal was favored by the government, but would have required substantial subsidies. Ultimately, GM's draft was chosen because it needed little government support.

Prime Minister Ben Chifley in 1948 completing the first Holden at the Fishermans Bend ( Port Melbourne ) factory

After the war, Holden returned to building automobile bodies, this time for Buick , Chevrolet, Pontiac and Vauxhall . The Oldsmobile Ace was also manufactured from 1946 to 1948. From then on, Holden continued to pursue the goal of producing an Australian automobile. This required compromises with GM, as Holden's managing director, Laurence Hartnett, preferred to develop an Australian design, while GM saw more of an American design as the basis for "Australia's Own Car". Finally, the basis was agreed on a car that Chevrolet had intended for the American market before the war (as a “cheap Chevrolet”), but which never got ready for the market. The Holden came out in 1948 and there were long waiting lists until 1949 and beyond.

The name Holden was chosen in honor of Sir Edward Holden, the first president and grandson of JA Holden. We also talked about GeM , Austral , Melba , Woomerah , Boomerang , Emu and Canbra , a phonetic notation of Canberra . Although the official model number was 48-215 , the car was simply offered as the Holden . The unofficial name " FX " originated from Holden himself and referred to the revised chassis of the 48-215 from 1953.

1950s

The Holden FC was the first model to be test driven at the Lang Lang VIC test site.

In the 1950s, Holden dominated the Australian automotive market. GM invested heavily in production output and so the company managed to meet the increasing demand for automobiles in post-war Australia. Cheaper cars with four-cylinder engines did not offer the sturdiness of the Holden on the poor roads in rural Australia. From 1951, the Ute 50-2106 was manufactured in parallel with the sedan 48-215 . This ute was soon the “workhorse” of choice across rural Australia. The production of the sedan and the Ute continued with small changes until 1953. Then the revised FJ model appeared , which was available in a third body variant as a closed delivery van. The FJ was the first new Holden model since production began in 1948. Over time, this model achieved cult status and is still considered a typical Australian car today. A new grille with horizontal bars dominated the front of the FJ, which also received various other trim details and minor mechanical changes. 1954 began the export of the Holden FJ to New Zealand . Despite minor differences to the original model 48-215, marketing campaigns and price reductions ensured stable sales figures for the FJ model and thus bridged the time until a completely new design appeared. At the Australian International Motor Show 2005 in Sydney , Holden paid tribute to the FJ with the Efijy concept car .

Holden's next model, the FE , was introduced in 1956. With the Station Sedan , a station wagon , there was now another body variant. In the same year Holden started exporting to Malaysia and Thailand . Sales in Australia remained high and in 1958 Holden achieved a 50% market share with the revised FC model . This was the first Holden model to be test driven at the company's new test site in Lang Lang, VIC . In 1957, Holden's export markets expanded to 17 countries; newly arrived to Indonesia , Hong Kong , Singapore , Fiji , Sudan , the countries of East Africa and South Africa . The opening of the Dandenong, VIC manufacturing facility in 1956 brought many new jobs and by 1959 Holden had 19,000 employees nationwide. In the same year, assembly of CKD kits began in South Africa and Indonesia.

1960s

In 1960, Holden introduced the third fundamentally new model, the FB . With its tail fins and panoramic windows , the design was reminiscent of the Chevrolets of the 1950s. When it was first introduced, many customers found its appearance to be out of date. It quickly became apparent in the industry that the style adopted from the USA did not quite match the more compact Holden. The FB was the first Holden, of which there was also a left-hand drive version. This expanded its export potential to the markets in New Caledonia , the New Hebrides , the Philippines and Hawaii .

The 1960 EK was Holden's answer to the Ford Falcon . It was also available with an automatic.

In 1960, Ford introduced the new Ford Falcon in Australia, just months after it was launched in the United States. Fortunately for Holden, the Falcon did not prove to be reliable. Its weak front axle design in particular made it appear unsuitable for the harsh Australian conditions. In response to the fresh design of the Falcon, Holden introduced the completely redesigned EK model in 1961 with two-tone paintwork and hydramatic automatic transmission on request. The revised EJ came in 1962, this time as the new Premier luxury model . Just one year later, the EH appeared with the new Red engine, which offered better performance than the previous Gray engine. With the HD of 1965, a new Powerglide automatic was introduced. At the same time, a high-performance X2 version of the 2.9-liter R6 engine was available upon request . In 1966 the HR appeared with a new front, a new rear and larger engines. More importantly, the HR had installed front seat belts as standard for the first time , making Holden the first Australian car manufacturer to offer this safety feature as standard in all models. At the same time, the new plant in Acacia Ridge, QLD was completed. From 1963, Holden exported cars to Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the South Sea Islands and the Caribbean.

Holden began manufacturing the Vauxhall Viva- based HA in 1964. In 1967 it was followed by the Holden Torana , a further development of the Viva, which put an end to Vauxhall manufacturing in Australia. 1969 came the LC , a Torana with a new design and Holden's six-cylinder engine. During its development, the six-cylinder Torana was originally intended as a racing version, but a marketing study showed that there was a market for such high-performance vehicles. The new Tri-Matic three-speed automatic was also used for the first time in the LC Torana . This was the result of the AU $ 16.5 million rebuild of the Holden facility in Woodville, SA .

The iconic coupé Holden Monaro (1968) based on the basic Kingswood model is now a cult vehicle.

Holden's production for sister companies Chevrolet and Pontiac ended in 1968. In the same year the new HK model arrived . For the first time, Holden used a V8 engine - a unit from Chevrolet in Canada - on this model . Based on the HK, the Brougham with a longer wheelbase and the 2-door Coupé Monaro also appeared . The better equipped Special model was called Kingswood in future and the basic Standard model was called Belmont in future . On March 3, 1969, the then President of GM-H, Alexander Rhea and the Australian Minister of Transport, Ian Sinclair , drove the 2 million Holden, a HK Brougham, off the assembly line. Just seven years earlier, on October 25, 1962, was the millionth Holden , an EJ Premier, rolled off the production line in Dandenong. In 1969, Holden manufactured its first own V8 engine and showed it in the Hurricane concept car before it was offered in the HT model . The latter was available in two displacement sizes: 4.2 l and 5.1 l. At the end of HT production, the vehicles were equipped with the Tri-Matic automatic transmission, which had been used for the first time in the LC Torana, as there were no longer enough American Powerglide automatic transmissions, but only the HG model from 1971 was officially the first great Holden with this gear.

Despite the range of serious competitors - namely the Ford Falcon and the Chrysler Valiant , as well as the Japanese cars - Holden's six- and eight-cylinder cars made in Australia remained the best-selling cars in the country in the 1960s. The sales figures were achieved by exporting the sedan, station wagon and Ute from the Kingswood range to Indonesia, Trinidad and Tobago , Pakistan , the Philippines and South Africa as CKD sets.

1970s

Holden's HX (see photo) , was an evolution of the top seller HQ with more than 480,000 sales during its production time.

Holden brought out the new HQ series in 1971. Back then, Holden made all of their cars in Australia and each of the models was designed there, but by the end of the decade they were building cars that had been devised overseas. The HQ was carefully redesigned and had a low ladder frame and was built in a half- monocoque construction. Other innovations consisted of the coil spring suspension of all four wheels and an extended wheelbase of the station wagons, while the Utes and delivery vans had, as before, a coil-sprung front axle in conjunction with a leaf-sprung rear axle. Part of this series was the new prestige sedan, which was offered under the brand name Statesman , which also had an extended wheelbase and replaced the previous Brougham.

The UC, Holden's last Torana model, was replaced by an intermediate model of the Commodore with a four-cylinder engine until the Camira came out in 1982 .

The new HQ substructure also led to a new generation of the two-door Monaro and the HQ model series developed into the best-selling Holden with 485,650 units in three years, despite competitors of equal size. 14,558 units were exported and 72,290 CKD kits were produced. In 1974 the HQ series was revised and appeared as the HJ series with a new front and a new rear. These new bodies were also retained in the HX and HZ series with minor changes . Reduced power engines that complied with the new Australian emissions regulations were introduced with the HX series, which offered the HZ improved handling and comfort through the Radial Tuned Suspension (RTS). The result of GM's tests with rotary engines , like those used by Mazda in Japan, was an export agreement from 1975: Holden exported the HJ and later the HX Premier with drivetrain as a Mazda Roadpacer . Mazda then built in the 13B Wankel engine and a three-speed automatic. Production ended in 1977 after only 840 units.

In the 1970s, Holden ran a promotional jingle ( Football, Meat Pies, Kangaroos and Holden cars ) based on the Chevrolet jingle Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pies and Chevrolet in the United States. The Torana was also further developed into a mid - size LH series in 1974 and was only available as a four-door sedan. The LH-Torana was one of the few cars in the world that was designed to accommodate four, six and eight-cylinder engines. That trend continued until Holden introduced the Sunbird in 1976 , which was essentially a new name, four-cylinder Torana. The new series was called LX and the new three-door station wagon was available as both a Torana and a Sunbird. A final further development of this series appeared in 1978 as UC . In its day, the Torana achieved legendary racing successes in Australia; Victories were recorded at the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst .

The Commodore , introduced in 1978, followed its predecessor Kingswood in terms of sales success and became the best-selling Holden to this day.

In 1975, Holden the compact car Gemini , the Australian version of the GM-T cars, based on the Opel Kadett C , a. The Gemini was developed together with the Japanese company Isuzu and was powered by a 1.6-liter R4 engine. The car quickly became popular and became the best-selling car in its class. The name survived until 1987.

Holden's greatest sales success to date, the Commodore was introduced in 1978 as the VB series. The new family sedan corresponded exactly to the German Opel Commodore C , but was equipped with the larger in-line six-cylinder and V8 engines from Holden. Initially, the car secured Holden's dominant position in Australia. But then some compromises resulting from adopting a design intended for a different market hurt the range's popularity. In particular, the car was narrower than its predecessor and its rival Ford Falcon, which limited the comfort for the rear seat passengers. Many countries in the world have left-hand traffic and Holden has exported nearly 100,000 Commodores to markets such as New Zealand, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Malta and Singapore.

In 1979 Holden stopped manufacturing the Torana and in 1980 the Sunbird suffered the same fate. With the introduction of the Commodore in 1978, the Torana became a dispensable “middle thing” between the smaller Gemini and the larger, more elaborately built Commodore. The direct successor to the Torana was the Camira , which was introduced on the GM-J platform in 1982.

1980s

After a good start, sales of the Camira , Holden's mid-range car on the GM-J platform, fell sharply. This brought the Australian GM division, which was already operating at a loss, into further financial distress.

The 1980s were a difficult time for Holden and the Australian automotive industry. The government tried to revitalize the auto industry with the Button Car Plan , which was designed to encourage them to produce fewer, higher, profitable models and export more. The decade began with the closure of the Pagewood NSW plant and the introduction of the Rodeo light commercial vehicle , which Isuzu bought from Japan. The Rodeo was available with either rear-axle or four-wheel drive as a cab chassis and there was a choice between gasoline and diesel engines. The model series was further developed in 1988 to the TF, which was based on the Isuzu TF . Other vehicles taken over by Isuzu were the all-wheel-drive Jackaroo (1981), the minibus Shuttle (1982) and the three-door station wagon Piazza (1986). The second generation Gemini from 1985 was also based on an Isuzu construction, although it was made in Australia.

The new WB was introduced as a delivery van and statesman in 1980. But these designs, which were based on the HQ series from the 1970s and their further developments HJ, HX and HZ, could not prevail on the market against the corresponding models from Ford. Therefore, Holden drew the logical conclusion and abolished all these models in 1984. Sales of the Commodore also fell when the aftermath of the 1979 energy crisis subsided, and so the Ford Falcon replaced the Holden Commodore as the best-selling car in Australia for the first time. Sales in other market segments also suffered from increasing competition from Ford and other Australian automakers, such as Mitsubishi , Nissan and Toyota , also gained significant market shares. After its introduction in 1982, the Camira was able to achieve good sales figures at the beginning, but these later declined because the buyers classified it with its 1.6-liter engine as underpowered and the manufacturing quality and driving comfort were not at the best. The Camira only stayed in the lineup for seven years and was responsible for Holden's losses of over AU $ 500 million in the mid-1980s.

The second generation of the Commodore ( VN Calais pictured) no longer had to struggle with the lack of breadth of its predecessor

In 1984 Holden introduced the VK Commodore with significant design changes compared to its predecessor VH. The following generation VL followed in 1986 and had a new front and a new rear. The fact that the new VL Commodore was powered by a 3.0L V6 engine from Nissan, a solution that was owed to the requirement that all new car models introduced in Australia after 1986, be suitable for unleaded gasoline, sparked discussion had to. Because it proved impossible to adapt the well-known six-cylinder in-line engines from in-house production to run on unleaded petrol, the Nissan engine was chosen as the best available machine. But the less favorable exchange rate of the AU- $ and the yen doubled the cost of this unit and the associated automatic transmission over the production time of the VL Commodore. The decision to use a Japanese gearbox led to the closure of the Woodville SA assembly plant . GM recognized Holden's turnaround and took over the entire debt of AU $ 780 million on December 19, 1986. At the request of GM headquarters, Holden was reorganized and recapitalized, which also separated the production of automobiles and engines has been. This led to a split into Holden's Motor Company (HMC) and Holden's Engine Company (HEC). For the most part, the bodies were now manufactured at the Elizabeth, SA plant , while the engines continued to be manufactured at the Fishermans Bend plant in Melbourne. The engine production was successful and also built four-cylinder engines of the GM Family II for installation in cars that were manufactured in other countries. The final step in the Commodore recovery strategy led to the introduction of the Model VN in 1988 , a significantly wider car powered by a Buick 3.8-liter V6 engine designed in the US and built in Australia.

Holden began selling the Barina small car, based on the Suzuki Swift , in 1985 . The Barina was offered at the same time as the Suzuki-sourced Drover , which was replaced by the Scurry later that year . In the previous year, as a result of a contract with Nissan, the Nissan Pulsar station wagon was introduced under the name Holden Astra . That arrangement expired in 1989 when Holden entered into a new alliance with Toyota and together they formed a new company: United Australian Automobile Industries (UAAI). This constellation led Holden to sell versions of the Toyota Corolla and the Toyota Camry under the names Nova and Apollo , respectively , and Toyota in return offered the Holden Commodore as Toyota Lexcen .

1990s

The 1995 VS Statesman / Caprice was a minor facelift of the VR , which in turn was a revision of the 1990 VQ , a version of the VN Commodore with an extended wheelbase.

The company changed in the course of the 1990s and increased its share of the Australian car market from 21% in 1991 to 28.2% in 1999. In addition to manufacturing Australia's best-selling car, which was also exported in large numbers, Holden was also able to do so export many engines made in Australia. During that decade, Holden adopted the strategy of simply importing models that she needed to offer a competitive range. During 1998 the name General Motors-Holden Ltd. on Holden Ltd. shortened.

On April 26, 1990, GM's New Zealand subsidiary, Holden New Zealand , announced that production at the Trentham plant would be discontinued and that the cars would be imported duty-free from Australia instead. The assembly lines in Petone had already been shut down in 1984 due to insufficient utilization. In the 1990s, Holden, other Australian automakers and trade unionists forced the Australian government to stop lowering import tariffs on cars. By 1997, the federal government had already reduced tariffs from 57.5% ten years earlier to 22.5%. By 2000 they should be reduced to only 15%. Holden viewed this development critically and reminded that the Australian population (and thus the domestic market, translator's note) were not that large and that such changes could damage the domestic industry.

The Commodore VT was introduced in 1997 and is a symbol of the global presence of this model.

In 1990 Holden reintroduced the abolished Statesman name , but this time as the Statesman / Caprice Holden range. For the 1991 model year, Holden made several improvements to the model range, e.g. B. a four-channel ABS , although from March 1976 there had already been a standard two-channel ABS in the Statesman Caprice. The Commodore with a shorter wheelbase received ABS in 1992. Another variant that was reissued was the large Ute, this time based on the Commodore. The VN Commodore received a major facelift in 1993 and became the VR Commodore . Compared to the VN, around 80% of the car in the VR was newly designed. A rounder body and a radiator grille in double kidney shape could be seen on the outside - a styling detail that was retained until the VY Commodore 2002. In 1997, Holden introduced the all-new VT Commodore , the result of an AU $ 600 million development that spanned half a decade. The new model had an even rounder body, improved driving characteristics and many details available for the first time in an Australian car. A stable body structure improved accident safety. The Australian-built Buick V6 engine was available, as was the Holden 5.0L V8, which was replaced by the 5.7L V8 GM-LS engine in 1999.

The 1998 Holden Astra continued Holden's tradition of taking over its small and medium-sized models from Opel in Europe.

The vehicles with the UAAI badge, first introduced in 1989, sold significantly worse than forecast, but the Holden Commodore, Toyota Camry and Toyota Corolla were successful models insofar as they were sold under their own names. The UAAI was dissolved in 1996 and Holden again only sold GM products. This led to the closure of the Dandenong VIC plant , the only plant in which the Corolla and Nova models were manufactured. The Holden Astra and the Vectra , both models designed by Opel in Germany, replaced the Nova and the Apollo. Since 1994 the Barina was no longer based on the Suzuki Swift, but on the Opel Corsa . Sales of the large SUV Suburban , which was bought by Chevrolet, began in 1998 and lasted until 2001. Also in 1998, Australian Vectra production began in Elizabeth SA . These cars were exported to Japan and Southeast Asia and carried Opel emblems. However, the Vectra did not achieve sufficient sales in Australia to make assembly in the country economical and was therefore fully imported again from 2000.

2000s

Holden was unable to maintain dominance from the 1990s into the 2000s. Their share of the Australian car market fell from 27.5% in 2000 to 15.2% in 2006. From March 2003 Holden lost first place in the Australian sales statistics to competitor Toyota.

This overall downturn also affected Holden's profits: the company posted total profits of AU $ 842.9 million in 2002-2004 and a total loss of AU $ 290 million in 2005-2006. Other reasons for the Losses included the cost of developing new models, the strong Australian dollar and the cost of downsizing at the Elizabeth SA plant , where the third shift on the assembly line had to be abandoned after just two years in 2005, costing 1,400 jobs. 2007 went a little better for Holden; the loss sank to AU- $ 6 million. In 2008 a loss of AU- $ 70.2 million followed and in 2009 a loss of AU- $ 210.6 million, while in 2010 a profit of AU- $ 112 million was achieved could. On May 18, 2005 "Holden Ltd." again the "GM Holden Ltd." and at the same time the headquarters moved to the new business premises at 191 Salmon Street in Port Melbourne .

The Coupé Monaro resurrected in 2001 as a niche model with low production numbers. There was surprisingly high demand overseas, so the Monaro was sold as the Pontiac GTO in the USA .

In 2005, Holden incited controversy with its "Holden Employee Pricing" television commercial, which ran from October through December 2005. The advertisement proclaimed that “for the first time ever, all Australians could benefit financially from an employee discount”. But this did not include the reduced delivery fee and the discounts on factory equipment that employees received. At the same time, employees received additional discounts of 25–29% on certain models.

In 2001, Holden revived the Monaro . The coupe was based on the VT Commodore and attracted worldwide interest after being shown as a concept car at Australian auto shows. The VT Commodore received its first major overhaul in 2002 and became the VY Commodore . A small facelift was carried out in 2004 to the VZ Commodore , which had the GM high-feature engine for the first time . This range of engines was built at a rate of 900 per day in the new factory in Fishermans Bend, which was completed in 2003. It has been proven that this contributed AU $ 5.2 billion to Australia's gross domestic product ; only the export values ​​alone amounted to AU $ 450 million. After the VZ, the high-feature engine also powered the brand new VE Commodore . In contrast to the earlier model series, the VE no longer uses the platforms taken over from Opel, to which it corresponds neither mechanically nor in size.

Holden revised the Commodore in 2006 to become the VE Commodore , Holden's first "construction on a blank sheet" since 1971.

During the 1990s, many Holden models also came directly from Opel. To improve profit, Holden took on a replacement from the South Korean GM division Daewoo after taking over a 44.6% stake - worth US $ 251 million - in the company in 2002 as GM representative. This share was increased to 50.9% in 2005, but when GM increased its share further to 70.1% as part of its "Chapter 11 reorganization" in 2009, the share was taken from Holden again and transferred to another (unknown) GM -Division transferred. The sale of Daewoo models under the name Holden began with the Barina 2005, which was now based on the Daewoo Kalos and no longer on the Opel Corsa. In the same year, the Viva based on the Daewoo Lacetti replaced the basic model Astra Classic , but the Astra , which was newly introduced in 2004, was still built. The next model was the Crossover Captiva 2006. After the Frontera and Jackaroo models had been abandoned in 2003, Holden only had an all-wheel drive model, the Adventra , a station wagon based on the Commodore to offer. The fourth model to be replaced by a South Korean alternative was the 2007 Vectra, which was superseded by the Epica . As a result of the split between GM and Isuzu, Holden lost the right to the name Rodeo . As a result, the Holden Rodeo received a facelift and came out as Colorado in 2008 . After Holden successfully applied for a subsidy of AU $ 149 million to build an Australian-adapted version of the Chevrolet Cruze from 2011, the company announced in 2009 that it would initially import the small car unchanged from South Korea. Following the subsidy announcement, then Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd stated that the production of this car would create 600 new jobs at the Elizabeth, SA plant . But he overlooked the fact that Holden would cut 600 jobs when production of the GM Family II engine was discontinued at the end of 2009.

On December 11, 2013, it was announced that GM would stop building vehicles in Australia and stop production on October 20, 2017. The total number of job cuts associated with this was estimated at 12,000 at the time.

End of production in 2017 and end of brand by 2021

On October 20, 2017, Holden's last vehicle rolled off the assembly line in Elizabeth , a suburb of Adelaide . This plant, which at the time of closure still employed 950 people, last produced 175 vehicles a day. Between June and July 2015, 760 vehicles were produced each day. It is estimated that around 10,000 workers in Australia who depend on Holden for employment are at risk of the plant closure. By the time the plant was closed, Holden had built a total of around 7.6 million vehicles. It was also decided to discontinue the Holden brand in 2021, which will mark the end of Holden.

The reasons for the closure of Holden are the small sales market in Australia and the Asian competition. The Japanese automaker Toyota closed its plant in Australia in 2016 and the US manufacturer Ford in October 2017. The union blames the Australian government for ending car manufacturing in Australia because it stopped subsidizing the industry in 2014.

Models

Timeline of Holden models since 1980
Type 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0
Small car Barina Spark (MJ) Spark (MP)
Barina (MB / ML) Barina (MF / MH) Barina (SB) Barina (XC) Barina (TK) Barina (TM)
Gemini Gemini
Compact class Astra Astra nova nova Astra Astra Astra Astra (BK)
Viva Cruze Astra (BL)
Middle class Camira Apollo Apollo Vectra Vectra Epica Malibu
Commodore Insignia
upper middle class Commodore / Calais / Berlina (VN / VP / VR / VS) Commodore / Calais / Berlina / Adventra (VT / VX / VY / VZ) Commodore / Calais / Berlina (VE / VF) Commodore (ZB)
Caprice / Statesman (VQ / VR / VS) Caprice / Statesman (WH / WK / WL) Caprice (WM / WN)
Upper class Royale
Sports coupes piazza Calibra Tigra Astra (PJ)
Monaro
Sports car Corvette
Utes rodeo rodeo Rodeo (RA) Colorado (RC) Colorado (RG)
Kingswood Commodore Utility (VG) Ute / Crewman / One Tonner (VU / VX / VZ) Ute (VE / VF)
One tonner One tonner
Crewman
Vans / high roof combination Scurry combo combo
Shuttle
Compact vans Zafira
Mini SUVs Drover Cruze Trax
Compact / medium-sized SUVs Frontera Frontera Captiva 5 Equinox
Jackaroo Jackaroo Jackaroo Captiva 7
Colorado 7 / Trailblazer
Acadia
Big SUVs Suburban
See also: List of Holden Automobiles
  •  on GM platform or (largely) independent Holden production
  •  based on Nissan
  •  based on Suzuki
  •  based on Toyota
  •  based on Isuzu
  •  based on Opel
  •  based on GM-Daewoo
  •  based on Chevrolet
  •  based on GMC
    		•

    See also

    Web links

    Commons : Holden (make of car)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

    Individual evidence

    1. ^ Street name (DOC) City of Burnside. Archived from the original on June 9, 2009. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
    2. ^ Davis, Kennedy, Kennedy (2007) : Part 1, p. 16.
    3. ^ Davis, Kennedy, Kennedy (1998) : 7.
    4. ↑ James Alexander Holden family papers, 1801-1975 . State Library of New South Wales. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
    5. ↑ Joan Hancock, Richards, Eric: Holden, Sir Edward Wheewall (1885-1947) . In: Australian Dictionary of Biography . Melbourne University Publishing. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
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    • Reborn! . In: Newspress (Ed.): Motor Manual . , Melbourne, VIC. June 1985.
    • John Carey: Holden Efijy . In: ACP Magazines (Ed.): Wheels magazine . , Sydney, NSW. November 2005.
    • John Carey: Holden Barina: Korea-built mini goes large on value . In: ACP Magazines (Ed.): Wheels magazine . , Sydney, NSW. November 2005.
    • John Carey: Holden Viva: Better than when it was a Daewoo. Just . In: ACP Magazines (Ed.): Wheels magazine . , Sydney, NSW. November 2005.
    • Garnier, Peter: News and Views: Hon I Sinclair, Federal Minister of Shipping and Transport, and AD Rea, managing director of GMH, drive the 2,000,000th Holden off the production line . In: Haymarket Publishing (Ed.): Autocar . 130, No. 3814, London, UK., March 20, 1969.
    • Rob Luck: Bold New Breed . In: Modern Magazines (Holdings) (Ed.): Modern Motor . September 1971.
    • Mike McCarthy, McKay, Peter; Newton, Bruce; Robinson, Peter: 2006 Collector's Edition VE Commodore: The Full Story . In: ACP Magazines (Ed.): Wheels magazine . , Sydney, NSW. October 2006.
    • Mike McCarthy: Mazda Roadpacer AP . In: ACP Magazines (Ed.): Wheels magazine . , Sydney, NSW. September 2007.
    • Bruce Newton: Sneer Miss . In: ACP Magazines (Ed.): Wheels magazine . , Sydney, NSW. June 2007.
    • Nathan Ponchard: At last, Holden finds a Seoul mate . In: ACP Magazines (Ed.): Wheels magazine . , Sydney, NSW. November 2006. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
    • John Wright: Badgeology . In: ACP Magazines (Ed.): Wheels magazine . , Sydney, NSW. May 2004.