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GM pulling out of Australian/NZ markets, killing off Holden brand

ClivePwned

ClivePwned

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,625
Australia
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-17/holden-car-brand-axed-after-160-years-in-australia/11972092

"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.

Holden ended its Australian manufacturing operations in October 2017, forcing hundreds of job losses."

Holden cars have been fairly rubbish since they stopped making anything locally an importing mainly garbage cars from GM's overseas operations, mostly from South Korea (remember Daewoo?). Holden was, for a very long time, associated with Australia in a big way "Meat Pies, Kangaroos and Holden cars."



watching the ad, maybe we didn't lose all that much after all.
 
YukiroCTX

YukiroCTX

Prophet of Regret
Member
Oct 30, 2017
2,996
I associate Holden with Police Cars. I've rarely seen anyone drive them except them.
 

Deleted member 25600

User requested account closure
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Oct 29, 2017
5,701
But....but....they said in 2017 that even though they'd shut down manufacturing, they weren't going anywhere!

I for one am shocked and angered and this completely unexpected turn of events.

Edit: 600 jobs will vanish because of this. There's also a small company in the US that does imports and conversions that probably wont be too happy about this news.

 
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turbobrick

turbobrick

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,085
Phoenix, AZ
While I would say I'm surprised, did any of GM's cars really sell well there? Other than commodores, which are just opel insignia's now, did anyone care about what they made?
 
OP
OP
ClivePwned

ClivePwned

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,625
Australia
turbobrick said:
While I would say I'm surprised, did any of GM's cars really sell well there? Other than commodores, which are just opel insignia's now, did anyone care about what they made?
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They used to. For a very long time the locally made Holden Commodore was the top selling car, and before that the bulky 70's Kingswood sedan was itself a very big deal.

There's been an historic rivalry between Holden fans and Ford fans for decades, one that where they even referred to in Mindhunter (the main character's name is Holden Ford).
 
turbobrick

turbobrick

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,085
Phoenix, AZ
ClivePwned said:
They used to. For a very long time the locally made Holden Commodore was the top selling car, and before that the bulky 70's Kingswood sedan was itself a very big deal.

There's been an historic rivalry between Holden fans and Ford fans for decades, one that where they even referred to in Mindhunter (the main character's name is Holden Ford).
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I know at one point they were popular, but I'm sure that was mostly their Australian made V8 cars that people cared about. But recently, like in the last 10 years, I don't think they made anything people cared about other than the Commodore and its variants.
 

Deleted member 25600

User requested account closure
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5,701
turbobrick said:
I know at one point they were popular, but I'm sure that was mostly their Australian made V8 cars that people cared about. But recently, like in the last 10 years, I don't think they made anything people cared about other than the Commodore and its variants.
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Apparently the Colorado (Chevrolet S10) has been the most popular seller in recent years.
en.wikipedia.org

Holden Colorado - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
Hokey

Hokey

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,164
Holden was dead to Aussies when they stopped manufacturing them here back in 2017. Any Aussies left that are still loyal to the brand are beyond help.
 
Nateo

Nateo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,550
Fucking hard rip. So many jobs are going to be loss. That 600 employees doesnt account the numerous Holden licenced sale yards.
 
Candescence

Candescence

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,253
Well, GM is only doing what Joe Hockey was daring them to do.

6ofrir5xkeh41.jpg


But really, the Coalition has nobody to blame but itself for the demise of the car manufacturing industry in Australia.
 
Lastbroadcast

Lastbroadcast

Member
Jul 6, 2018
1,938
Sydney, Australia
turbobrick said:
I know at one point they were popular, but I'm sure that was mostly their Australian made V8 cars that people cared about. But recently, like in the last 10 years, I don't think they made anything people cared about other than the Commodore and its variants.
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If you drove around Sydney in the mid-1990s, probably 50-65pc of the cars would have been GM Holden Commodores or Ford Falcons and their variants - big family sedans, station wagons and utes were the big sellers back then. If you didn't buy a Holden or a Ford there was almost something wrong with you.

There's definitely been a shift in the market in the last 10-15 years towards small and medium sized cars (and SUVs). GM simply didn't fill this new market with anything good and the Japanese manufacturers moved in.

Drive around Sydney nowadays and you'll see small-medium Mazdas and Toyotas, mainly. Corollas, Yaris, Mazda 2, Mazda 3, VW Golf, Hyundai i30, etc.

Plus the rich wankers around my area drive SUVs like the Land Rover, Ford Territory, Rav4, CX-7 and the like.

Still, it's really sad. My dad used to have Holden Commodores as company cars when he was a sales rep in the 1990s. We drove pretty much around Australia in them on family holidays. They were great things.

Holden is considered an iconic Australian brand - it's almost as prominent as something like Qantas. People will be extremely sad.
 
ShadowAUS

ShadowAUS

Member
Feb 20, 2019
2,109
Australia
End of an era (though this end started years ago). If my Grandpa was still alive he would be devastated.
jwhit28 said:
What major car companies still actually do their manufacturing in Australia?
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Cars? None really. Trucks? Iveco and Paccar (Kenworth Trucks) are all that are left really. I think some buses are made locally but I have no real knowledge of it personally.
RidiculousMirror said:
Remember the beautiful days of Mitsubishi Australia? I drive a 380. Still beautiful. An iron horse touch wood.
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I was all about the V6 Magna's. Wonderful cars and excellent engine's.
 
toastyToast

toastyToast

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,326
Interest completely plummeted after they ceased local manufacturing. It was eerie.

Guess we're gonna watch Toyata Camrys at Bathurst now
 
Mr. Pointy

Mr. Pointy

Member
Oct 28, 2017
5,141
Ford got lucky after Falcon died with the Ranger being the #2 selling vehicle in Oz now, and the Mustang taking up all the V8 sales. None of their other cars sell that great, except for Everest.

Holden basically had nothing after local manufacturing ended except cultural cringe. Rebranding the front-wheel drive Opel Insignia as the Commodore was a stupid idea and Colorado sales just weren't enough to sustain the brand.

It is unfortunate, but inevitable.
 
Mr. Pointy

Mr. Pointy

Member
Oct 28, 2017
5,141
GM killed off their Thailand operations as well. They sold the plant making Colorados to Great Wall Motors. All their RHD operations are gone.
 
Candescence

Candescence

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,253
언이라브 said:
Watch them blame Labor!
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They've been in government for six years already (fucking hell that's way too long, and now we gotta endure three more), dropping the car manufacturing subsidiaries was part of Tony Abbott's first horror budget, and what little credibility the govt had was kinda already shot by the shitshow response to the bushfires, the sports rorting scandal and Barnaby Joyce's rebellion. Nobody with even half a brain would take it seriously.
 
JahIthBer

JahIthBer

Member
Jan 27, 2018
10,383
Shame, a bit of Australian culture gone, but i don't think that many Aussies brought Holden's anymore, so it's hard to point the blame at GM.
 

JasonV

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,967
Lot of bogans gonna be sad. In the 90s the Commodore hooning down suburban streets were a very common sight.
 
ascii42

ascii42

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,798
DrSlek said:
But....but....they said in 2017 that even though they'd shut down manufacturing, they weren't going anywhere!

I for one am shocked and angered and this completely unexpected turn of events.

Edit: 600 jobs will vanish because of this. There's also a small company in the US that does imports and conversions that probably wont be too happy about this news.

Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I'm still sad Pontiac died before we could get the G8 ST.
2010-pontiac-g8-st-pickup-killed-photo-251098-s-original.jpg
 
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