The End of Holden

[The Speaker]

After a long decline, the end of Holden's manufacturing has caused the brand to sharply decline, and it will soon pass away. Few Australian brands are more 'iconic'.

About 600 Holden employees are likely to lose their jobs after parent company General Motors announced it would axe the iconic Australian car brand by the end of the year.

In a statement, GM said the brand was no longer competitive in the current market and would be "retired" from sales, design and engineering across Australia and New Zealand by 2021.

The statement did not clarify what the change would mean for Holden employees, but the ABC understands about 600 workers are likely to lose their jobs.

'Lots of tears, lots of hugs': Holden brand axed

About 600 Holden employees will lose their jobs after parent company General Motors announced it would axe the iconic Australian car brand by the end of the year.

www.abc.net.au

 

[M Malice]

From my childhood, at least footy and meat pies are still around.

 

[WCErevival]

Been on the cards for a while.

 

[craigos]

Does that mean Ford "wins" the age old contest?

 

[Kurve]

Does that mean Ford "wins" the age old contest?

Ford is still a dirty word ...

 

[Polar88]

Predictable, but still a sad day for Australia.

 

[MatthewB]

It's a sad day, both my grandparents drove Holdens, I've always driven Holdens, lucky I don't need to change cars for a few years

 

[Hawk Dork]

Our last Holden was a company car in the early 80s
My dads last one was 78
All Japanese cars since then

 

[Scotland]

Sad, but in reality Holden has been dead since the last one rolled off the production line in SA a couple of years ago.

In 2004 they sold 178,000 cars. In 2019, 43,000. 75% of sales goneski. If GM are getting out of RHD vehicles then it makes sense to cut Australia loose as it's such a small market to them.

Personally I think it's better this way. Holden was a part of Australian history from the 1940s through to the 2010s. Seeing the Commordore die a sad death as FWD 4 cylinder Opel wasn't something anyone needs to remember. I think of Holden as Brock breaking Bathurst lap records in his A9X Torana, the 99.7% Australian built HQ, bogans fanging burnouts in utes etc. I don't think it needs to hang around as a generic brand selling average quality Opels and Daewoos.

 

[craigos]

Ford is still a dirty word ...

I actually really like both and old BMW's as well!

 

[RolandF1]

Our last Holden was a company car in the early 80s
My dads last one was 78
All Japanese cars since then

My dad drove Holdens throughout his working life from the 70s to the 2010s. His personal vehicles are Fords.

I'm surprised no car manufacturers have shown interest in purchasing the brand but maybe GMs decisions over the last few years have really killed it.

 

[M Malice]

Predictable, but still a sad day for Australia.

Gee you must love your Holdens, nearly 2 years on Big Footy and this your 1st post, you are either the epitome of procrastination or taking the slow burn to an unprecedented level.

 

[Polar88]

Gee you must love your Holdens, nearly 2 years on Big Footy and this your 1st post, you are either the epitome of procrastination or taking the slow burn to an unprecedented level.

Haha.
I do love my Holdens.
I have a HJ ute that gets a run every Sunday around town.
And a VF ute that gets mainly used on Saturdays to and from cricket/footy, depending on the season.

And yes, a very slow burn.

 

[M Malice]

Rolling over in his grave.

 

[Kurve]

My first car was a Holden and one of my first jobs was with them in promotions and then in merchandising.

 

[Mofra]

Not surprising, GM struggling for a while and we are such a small market.

 

[Syd]

Not surprising, GM struggling for a while and we are such a small market.

Put all their eggs in the Commodore basket, Crew Cab Utes, SUV's and cheap Asian Imports rule Australian roads now

 

[Scotland]

https://www.canstar.com.au/car-insurance/top-10-selling-cars/

Top 10 selling cars in Australia – January 2020

1. Toyota Hilux
2. Ford Ranger
3. Toyota Corolla
4. Toyota RAV4
5. Mitsubishi Triton
6. Huyundai i30
7. Mazda CX-5
8. Kia Cerato
9. Nissan X-Trail
10. Mazda3

Holden snuck into 10th for overall marque sales. Looking at the models people buy now, why would you choose the current Holden equivalent? You wouldn't, and most people don't.

 

[Sainteric]

Not surprising, GM struggling for a while and we are such a small market.

They are pulling out of right hand drive markets altogether, mind you they have shit product. They will retreat and make pickups for Nth America.

 

[Kurve]

Rolling over in his grave.
View attachment 824218

 

[craigos]

https://www.canstar.com.au/car-insurance/top-10-selling-cars/

Top 10 selling cars in Australia – January 2020

1. Toyota Hilux
2. Ford Ranger
3. Toyota Corolla
4. Toyota RAV4
5. Mitsubishi Triton
6. Huyundai i30
7. Mazda CX-5
8. Kia Cerato
9. Nissan X-Trail
10. Mazda3

Holden snuck into 10th for overall marque sales. Looking at the models people buy now, why would you choose the current Holden equivalent? You wouldn't, and most people don't.

Majority of which are "I like to sit up high" big cars as opposed to the big sedans of Holden and Ford.

 

[Admiral Byng]

We are only left with the romantic myth that Holden was once an Aussie car company.

Consumers were already pissed with GM for stopping Australian production in spite of recent handouts from the Government to keep the factory open. Sales plummeted since then, they felt GM had taken the money and reneged on their word.

What really did for Holden was the invention of this:

It made factories in each market obsolete.

 

[The Speaker]

What really did for Holden was the invention of this:

It made factories in each market obsolete.

Unless you were Toyota, who saw it as a matter of pride that their Australian factory ran at a profit and wanted it to continue, but were unable to support the industry on their own.

 

[Scotland]

Majority of which are "I like to sit up high" big cars as opposed to the big sedans of Holden and Ford.

Demand for those evaporated 10 years ago. Holden sold 94,000 Commodores at the peak, they sold 5,000 last year.

 

[Gough]

Shoulda kept going with the Energy Polariser.