General Motors defeats Holden dealers in Supreme Court
Class action dismissed four years after iconic Aussie brand was axedGeneral Motors has won a complete victory in a multi-year class action brought by a group of 11 former Holden dealers in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Rejected by Justice Nichols, the class action was brought in the wake of brand’s withdrawal from Australia in 2021 with the dealers alleging Holden entered into contracts with them in 2018 to provide new Holden-branded vehicles for a period of five years.
Holden’s parent company, General Motors, subsequently announced the retirement of the Holden brand, with the last Holden vehicle manufactured in March 2020.
The plaintiff said that since that date, it and the group members had been unable to place further orders with Holden, and that by August 2020 Holden had ceased supplying any new vehicles to the group members.
The plaintiff claimed damages for breach of what they said were contracts requiring the provision of new Holden vehicles to each group member for each contract’s entire five-year term.
But Justice Nichols either dismissed or refused to rule on the various aspects of the litigants’ case. A full ruling will be handed down in due course.
The dealers are now considering their options.
“Today will come as a massive blow to those dealers who have gone through the exhausting and emotional process of taking on a giant multinational car company,” Australian Automotive Dealer Association CEO James Voortman said.
“The legal argument successfully put forward by GM that they had no obligation under the Dealer Agreement to supply cars to their retailers is incredibly disappointing and sets a dangerous precedent for the automotive industry,” he said.
“These dealers upheld their end of the bargain. They invested in facilities, employed staff and dedicated their talents to selling Holden vehicles in the communities in which they operate because they were led to believe that the Holden brand was set to stay in Australia for the long haul.”
General Motors offered the briefest of responses when contacted by carsales: “We welcome the decision”.
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