Holden axed: What it means for owners

Holden says it will “deliver a dignified and respectful transition” for its staff, dealers, customers and other stakeholders following the GM brand’s departure from Australia by the end of this year.

This includes honouring all warranties and servicing offers made to its customers when they bought their vehicles, and the provision of servicing and spare parts for at least 10 years – as required by law – via national aftersales networks in Australia and New Zealand.

Also as required, Holden and its aftersales network will work with owners and appropriate government agencies to handle any recalls or safety-related issues as they arise.

As for the 600-odd sales, marketing, design and engineering staff soon to be made redundant in Port Melbourne and Lang Lang, GM Holden says it will offer “separation packages and employment transition support”, just as it did when it ceased manufacturing in 2017.

Holden said “appropriate transition arrangements” for its national retail network would include “offering dealers the opportunity to continue as authorized service outlets to support Holden customers”.

Earlier today, General Motors said its “agonizing” decision to “retire the Holden brand” and its Maven and Holden Financial Services operations was made because it “could not prioritize the investment required for Holden to be successful for the long term in Australia and New Zealand”.

It has confirmed most affected staff will leave the company by June 2020 with engineering and design programs handed over to GM overseas operations by August and June 2020 respectively.

Over the past three years GM has exited the UK, Japan, India and South Africa, leaving Thailand, Australia and NZ as its three main right-hand drive markets.

GM said today it will withdraw Chevrolet from Thailand in 2020 and sell its Rayong factory there to Great Wall Motors. RHD vehicles account for just 25 per cent of sales globally.

The US car-maker said it undertook a detailed analysis of the investment required for Holden to be competitive beyond the current generation of products, which includes only SUVs and the Colorado ute following the axing of the German-made Commodore and Astra in december.

International Operations Senior Vice President Julian Blissett said GM considered numerous options to maintain and turn around Holden.

He said factors impacting the business case for further investment included “highly fragmented right-hand-drive markets, the economics to support growing the brand, and delivering an appropriate return on investment”.

“Through its proud 160-year history, Holden has not only made cars, it has been a powerful driver of the industrialization and advancement of Australia and New Zealand,” said Blissett.

“Over recent years, as the industry underwent significant change globally and locally, we implemented a number of alternative strategies to try to sustain and improve the business, together with the local team.

“After comprehensive assessment, we regret that we could not prioritize the investment required for Holden to be successful for the long term in Australia and New Zealand, over all other considerations we have globally.

“This decision is based on global priorities and does not reflect the hard work, talent and professionalism of the Holden team.”

GM said it expects to incur net cash charges of about $US300 million and total cash and non-cash charges of $US1.1 billion throughout 2020 as a result of its withdrawal from Australia, New Zealand and Thailand.

The axing of what was once Australia’s favourite brand follows the local demise of Infiniti and Holden joins Opel, Hummer, Saab and, in the US, Pontiac on the list of brands most recently killed off or offloaded by GM.

GM says it intends to focus on the specialty vehicle business in Australia and NZ, and “plans to immediately work with its partner on developing these plans”.

That partner, HSV, currently sells the Chevrolet Silverado pick-up and Camaro muscle-car via 64 of Australia’s 200-plus Holden dealerships. The same dealers were likely to market the new Corvette supercar from later this year.

Holden’s interim chairman and managing director Kristian Aquilina highlighted the brand’s significance to Australia and said it was “critical the company worked with all stakeholders to deliver a dignified and respectful wind-down”, but he stopped short of apologizing to staff, dealers or customers.

“Holden will always have a special place in the development of our countries. As Australia and New Zealand grew, Holden was a part of the engine room fuelling that development,” said Aquilina.

“Today’s announcement will be felt deeply by the many people who love Holdens, drive Holdens and feel connected to our company which has been with us for 160 years and is almost ubiquitous in our lives.

“Unfortunately, all the hard work and talent of the Holden family, the support of our parent company GM and the passion of our loyal supporters have not been enough to overcome our challenges.

“We understand the impact of this decision on our people, our customers, our dealers and our partners – and will work closely with all stakeholders to deliver a dignified and respectful transition.”

Aquilina reiterated Holden would honour all warranty and aftersales arrangements including recently announced seven-year free servicing offers and longer warranties.

Holden says customers concerned about their warranties and service agreements can call its customer care team in Australia (1800 46 465 336) or NZ (0800 465 336).

Holden timeline
1856 - Holden established in South Australian as a saddlery business
1917 - Holden builds its first vehicle bodies
1931 - General Motors buys Holden Motor Body Builders
1948 - First Australian-designed car, the 48-215 ‘FX produced
1951 - First Holden ute released
1965 - Elizabeth plant assembles its first car
1968 - Kingswood and Monaro launched
1969 - Holden makes its first V8
1971 - Holden HQ released
1978 - Commodore replaces Kingswood
2003 - Holden opens $400 million V6 plant in Melbourne
2003 - Toyota eclipses Holden as Australia’s top-selling car-maker
2009 - General Motors files for bankruptcy in the US
2013 - Holden announces end of manufacturing
2017 - Last Commodore rolls off the line
2018 - Holden releases first imported Commodore
2019 - GM says it will axe Commodore and Astra in 2020
2020 - GM announces retirement of Holden brand