Everything about Holden totally explained
GM Holden Ltd is an
Australian automaker based in
Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was originally independent, but since 1931 has been a subsidiary of
General Motors (GM). Holden has taken charge of vehicle operations for GM in
Australasia and, on behalf of GM, holds partial ownership of
GM Daewoo in
South Korea. Over the years, Holden has offered a broad range of locally produced vehicles, supplemented by imported GM models. In the past, Holden has offered
rebadged Nissan and
Toyota models in sharing arrangements.
Holden
car bodies are manufactured at
Elizabeth, South Australia, and engines are produced at Port Melbourne, Victoria. Historically, production or assembly plants were operated in all mainland
states of Australia:
Acacia Ridge, Queensland;
Dandenong, Victoria;
Mosman Park, Western Australia;
Pagewood, New South Wales; and
Woodville, South Australia. Until 1990,
Holden New Zealand also operated a plant based in
Trentham, and until 1984 in
Petone as well. The consolidation of car production at Elizabeth, South Australia, was completed in 1988, but some assembly operations continued at Dandenong until 1996.
Although Holden's involvement in exports has fluctuated since the 1950s, the declining sales of large cars in Australia has led the company to look to international markets to increase profitability; in 2006, exports alone accounted for almost
AU$1.3 billion in earnings.
History of the marque
Early history
In 1852, James Alexander Holden emigrated to
South Australia from
England and in 1856 established
J.A. Holden & Co, a saddlery business in
Adelaide.
Edward Holden, James' son, joined the firm in 1905 with an interest in automobiles. From there, the firm evolved through various partnerships and, in 1908, Holden and Frost moved into the business of minor repairs to car upholstery. The company began to produce complete motorcycle sidecar bodies in 1913, and Edward experimented with fitting bodies to different types of carriages. After 1917, wartime trade restrictions led the company to start full-scale production of vehicle body shells. J.A. Holden founded a new company in 1919,
Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd (HMBB) specialising in car bodies. By 1923, HMBB were producing 12,000 units per year. These bodies were made to suit a number of
chassis imported from manufacturers such as
Chevrolet and
Dodge. Since then, two name changes have occurred: the first, in 1998, changed the name to
Holden Ltd, and the second, in May 2005, to
GM Holden Ltd.
1940s
Holden's first full-scale car factory in
Port Melbourne, Victoria was completed in 1936, with construction beginning in 1939 on a new plant in
Pagewood, New South Wales. Both General Motors and
Ford provided studies to the Australian Government outlining the production of the first Australian designed car. Ford's proposal was the government's first choice, but required substantial financial assistance. General Motors' study was ultimately chosen because of its low level of government intervention. After the war, Holden returned to producing vehicle bodies, this time for
Buick,
Chevrolet,
Pontiac and
Vauxhall. Before this however, Holden continued to pursue the goal of producing an Australian car. This involved compromise with General Motors, as Holden's managing director
Laurence Hartnett favoured development of a local design, while GM preferred to see an American design as the basis for "Australia's Own Car". In the end, the design was based on a previously rejected post-war Chevrolet proposal. The Holden was launched in 1948, creating long waiting lists extending through 1949 and beyond. Although officially designated "
48-215", the car was marketed simply as the "Holden". The unofficial usage of the name "FX" originated within Holden, referring to the updated suspension 48-215 of 1953.
1950s
During the 1950s, Holden dominated the Australian car market. General Motors invested heavily in production capacity, which allowed the company to meet increased post-war demand for motor cars.
48-215 sedans were produced in parallel with the
50-2106 coupé utility from 1951; the latter was known
colloquially as the "ute" and became ubiquitous in Australian
rural areas as the workhorse of choice. Production of both the ute and sedan continued with minor changes until 1953, when they were replaced by the facelifted
FJ model, introducing a third
panel van body style. The FJ was the first major change to the Holden since its 1948 introduction. Over time it gained iconic status and remains one of Australia's most recognisable automotive symbols. A new horizontally slatted
grille dominated the front-end of the FJ, which had other trim changes, along with a large rear window, but no changes were made to the body panels. Although little changed from the 48-215, marketing campaigns and price cuts kept FJ sales steady until a completely redesigned model was launched. At the 2005
Australian International Motor Show in
Sydney, Holden paid homage to the FJ with the
Efijy concept car. Holden's next model, the FE, launched in 1956; offered in a new
station wagon body style dubbed "Station Sedan" in the company's sales literature. Strong sales continued in Australia, and Holden achieved a market share of more than 50 percent in 1958 with the revised FC model. This was the first Holden to be tested on the new
Holden Proving Ground based in
Lang Lang, Victoria. The opening of the
Dandenong, Victoria production facility in 1956 brought further jobs; by 1959 Holden employed 19,000 workers country-wide.
1960s
In the 1960s, Holden faced serious competition for the first time; its major competitors began to import cars. Holden in 1960, introduced its third major new model, the FB. The car's style was inspired by 1950s Chevrolets, with
tailfins and a wrap-around
windshield with "dog leg"
A-pillars. By the time it was introduced, many considered the appearance dated. Much of the motoring industry at the time noted that the adopted style didn't translate well to the more compact Holden. The FB became the first Holden that was adapted for
left-hand-drive markets, enhancing its export potential. In 1960,
Ford unveiled the new
Falcon in Australia, only months after its introduction in the United States. To Holden's advantage, the Falcon wasn't durable, particularly in the front suspension, making it ill-suited for
Australian conditions. In response to the Falcon, Holden introduced the facelifted EK in 1961; the new model featured two-tone paintwork and optional
automatic transmission. An all-new EJ model came in 1962, debuting the new luxury oriented "Premier" model. The
EH update came a year later brining the new
Red motor, providing better performance than the previous
Grey motor. After the slow-selling HD series of 1965, Holden responded with the HR in 1966, selling over 250,000 units in two years. Changes came in the form of new front and rear styling and higher-capacity engines. More significantly, the HR fitted standard front
seat belts; Holden thus became the first Australian automaker to provide the safety device as standard equipment across all models. This coincided with the completion of the production plant in
Acacia Ridge, Queensland. Holden offered the LC, a Torana with new styling, in 1969 with the availability of Holden's six-cylinder engine. In the development days, the six-cylinder Torana was reserved for
motor racing, but research had shown that there was a business case for such a model.
Holden's long tradition of manufacturing
Chevrolets and
Pontiacs ended in 1968, coinciding with Holden's next major new model, the HK. This included Holden's first
V8 engine, a
Chevrolet engine imported from the United States. Models based on the HK series included an extended-length prestige model, the
Brougham, and a two-door
coupé, the
Monaro. The mainstream
Holden Special was rebranded the
Kingswood, and the basic
fleet model, the
Standard, became the
Belmont. The first Australian-designed and mass-produced V8 engine debuted in the Hurricane concept of 1969, before being applied to facelifted HT model. This was available in two capacities: referred to as a 4.2L and .
Despite the arrival of serious competitors—namely the Ford Falcon,
Chrysler Valiant, and
Japanese cars—in the 1960s, Holden's locally produced large six- and eight-cylinder cars remained Australia's top-selling vehicles. Sales were boosted by exporting the Kingswood sedan, station wagon, and utility body styles to places such as
Indonesia,
Trinidad and Tobago, and
South Africa in
complete knock down form.
1970s
In 1970, Holden transformed the
Woodville, South Australia factory into an AU$16.5 million
Tri-Matic automatic transmission plant. The following year, Holden launched the new
HQ series. At this time, the company was producing all of its passenger cars in Australia, and every model was of Australian design; however, by the end of the decade, Holden was producing cars based on overseas designs. The HQ was thoroughly re-engineered, featuring a perimeter frame and semi-
monocoque (unibody) construction. Other firsts included an all-coil suspension and an extended wheelbase for station wagons, while the utilities and panel vans retained the traditional coil/leaf suspension configuration. The series included the new prestige
Statesman brand, which also had a longer wheelbase replacing the
Brougham. The Statesman remains noteworthy because it wasn't marketed as a "Holden", but rather a "Statesman"., this model was also exported as a Chevrolet to foreign markets. The HQ framework led to a new generation of two-door
Monaros, and, despite the introduction of the similar sized competitors, the HQ range became the top-selling Holden of all time, with 485,650 units sold in three years.
The next development of the Torana was the LH series, introduced in 1974 offered only as a four-door sedan. The LH Torana was one of the few cars worldwide engineered to occupy four-, six-and eight-cylinder engines. This trend continued until Holden introduced the
Sunbird in 1976; essentially the four-cylinder Torana with a new name.
In 1975, Holden introduced the
subcompact Gemini, the Australian version of the "
T-Car", based on the
Opel Kadett C. The Gemini was an overseas design developed jointly with
Isuzu, GM's Japanese affiliate; and was powered by a 1.6 litre four-cylinder engine. Fast becoming a popular car, the Gemini rapidly attained sales leadership in its class, and the nameplate lived on until 1987.
Holden's most popular car to date, the
Commodore, was introduced in 1978 as the
VB. The new family car was loosely based on the
Opel Rekord E body shell, but with the front from the
Opel Senator grafted to accommodate the larger Holden six-cylinder and V8 engines. Initially, the Commodore maintained Holden's sales leadership in Australia. However, some of the compromises resulting from the adoption of a design intended for another market hampered the car's acceptance. In particular, it was narrower than its predecessor and its Falcon rival, making it less comfortable for three rear-seat passengers.
Holden discontinued the Torana in 1979 and the Sunbird in 1980. After the 1978 introduction of the Commodore, the Torana became the "in-between" car, surrounded by the smaller and more economical
Gemini and the larger, more sophisticated Commodore. The closest successor to the Torana was the
Camira, released in 1982 as Australia's version of GM's medium-sized "
J-Car".
1980s
The 1980s were challenging for Holden and the Australian car industry. The Australian Government tried to revive the industry with the
Button car plan, which encouraged car makers to focus on producing fewer models at higher, more economical volumes, and to export cars. The decade opened with the shut-down of the
Pagewood, New South Wales production plant and introduction of the light commercial
Rodeo, sourced from Isuzu in Japan. The range was updated in 1988 with the TF series, based on the
Isuzu TF. When released in 1982, the
Camira initially generated good sales, which later declined because buyers considered the 1.6 litre engine underpowered, and the car's build and ride quality below-average.
In 1984, Holden introduced the
VK Commodore, with significant styling changes from the previous
VH. The Commodore was next updated in 1986 as the
VL, which had new front and rear styling. Controversially, the VL was powered by the 3.0 litre
Nissan RB30 six-cylinder engine and had an electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission. The engine change was necessitated by the legal requirement that all new cars sold in Australia after 1986 had to consume unleaded petrol. Because it was infeasible to convert the existing six-cylinder engine to run on unleaded fuel, the Nissan engine was chosen as the best engine available. However, changing exchange rates caused the cost of the engine and transmission to double over the life of the VL. The decision to opt for a Japanese-made transmission led to the closure of the
Woodville, South Australia assembly plant. This came after Holden reorganised and recapitalised the business in 1985; separating the engine and car manufacturing divisions in the process. For the most part, car bodies were now manufactured at
Elizabeth, South Australia, with engines confined to a single plant in
Port Melbourne, Victoria. The engine manufacturing business was successful, building four-cylinder
Family II engines for use in cars built overseas. Confident by the apparent sign of turnaround, General Motors paid off Holden's mounted losses of AU$780 million on
December 19 1986. In the same year,
Nissan Pulsar hatchbacks were rebadged as the
Holden Astra, as a result of a deal with Nissan. This arrangement ceased in 1988 when Holden entered a new alliance with Toyota, forming a new company:
United Australian Automobile Industries (UAAI). UAAI resulted in Holden selling rebadged versions of Toyota's
Corolla and
Camry, as the
Holden Nova and
Apollo respectively, with Toyota re-branding the Commodore as the Toyota Lexcen.
1990s
The company changed throughout the 1990s, increasing its Australian market share from 21 percent in 1991 to 28.2 percent in 1999. Besides manufacturing Australia's bestselling car, which was exported in significant numbers, Holden continued to export many locally produced engines to power cars made elsewhere. In this decade, Holden adopted a strategy of importing cars it needed to offer a full range of competitive vehicles.
On
April 26,
1990, GM's New Zealand subsidiary,
Holden New Zealand, announced that production at the assembly plant based in
Trentham would be phased out and that vehicles would be imported
duty-free. This came after the 1984 closure of the
Petone assembly line due to low output volumes. During the 1990s Holden, other Australian automakers and
trade unionists pressured the Australian Government to halt the lowering of car import
tariffs. By 1997, the federal government had already cut tariffs to 22.5 percent from 57.5 percent ten years earlier, and by 2000 were planning to reduce this even further down to 15 percent. Holden was critical, saying that Australia's population wasn't large enough, and that the changes could tarnish the local industry.
Holden re-introduced its defunct
Statesman name in 1990, this time under the Holden marque, as the
Statesman and Caprice. For 1991, Holden updated the Statesman and Caprice with a range of improvements, including the introduction of four-wheel
anti-lock brakes, although a rear-wheel system had been standard on the Statesman Caprice from March 1976. Another returning variant was the full-size utility, this time based on the Commodore. The
VN Commodore received a major facelift in 1993 with the
VR. Compared to the VN, approximately 80 percent of car was new. Exterior changes brought an overall smoother body and a "twin-kidney"
grille—a Commodore styling trait which remained until the 2002
VY model. Holden introduced the all-new
VT Commodore in 1997, the outcome of an AU$600 million development programme that spanned more than half a decade. The new model sported a rounded exterior body shell, improved dynamics, and many firsts for an Australian-built car. A stronger body structure increased crash safety. A revived
Monaro, based on the VT Commodore, attracted wide attention after being shown as a concept car at Australian
auto shows, and it drew a large waiting list after production began. The revived Monaro was released to the Australian market in 2001 and ceased production in 2005. The
Buick-sourced
V6 engine, produced locally, powered the Commodore range, as did the 5.0 litre V8 engine, replaced in 1999 by a 5.7 litre unit.
The UAAI badge-engineered cars first introduced in the 1980s sold poorly, but the Holden Commodore, Toyota Camry, and Corolla were all successful when sold under their original nameplates. UAAI was dissolved in 1996, and Holden returned selling to GM products. The
Holden Astra and
Vectra, both designed by
Opel in
Germany, replaced the Toyota-sourced Holden Nova and Apollo. This came after the 1994 introduction of the
Opel Corsa replacing the already available
Suzuki Swift as the source for the
Holden Barina. Assembly of Vectra began at
Elizabeth, South Australia in 1998, and these cars were exported to
Japan and
Southeast Asia with Opel badges. However, the Vectra didn't achieve sufficient sales in Australia to justify local assembly, and reverted to being fully imported in 2000.
2000s
Holden's market surge from the 1990s reversed in the 2000s. In Australia, Holden's market share dropped from 27.5 percent in 2000 to 15.2 percent in 2006. From March 2003, Holden no longer held the number one sales position in Australia, losing ground to
Toyota. This overall downturn affected Holden's profits; the company recorded a combined gain of AU$842.9 million between 2002 and 2004, and a loss of AU$290 million between 2005 and 2006. Factors contributing to the loss included the development of an all-new model, the strong
Australian dollar and the cost of reducing the workforce at the Elizabeth plant, including the loss of 1,400 jobs after the closure of the third-shift assembly line in 2005, after just two years in operation. Holden caused controversy in 2005 with their
Holden Employee Pricing
television advertisement, which ran between October and December 2005. The campaign publicised that "For the first time ever, all Australians can enjoy the financial benefit of Holden Employee Pricing". However, this didn't include a discounted dealer delivery fee and savings on factory fitted options and accessories that employees received. At the same time, employees were given a further discount between 25 and 29 percent on selected models.
The
VT Commodore received its first major update in 2002 with the
VY series. A mildly facelifted
VZ model launched in 2004, introducing the GM
High Feature engine. This was built at the
Port Melbourne, Victoria facility completed in 2003, with a maximum output 900 engines per day. This has reportedly added AU$5.2 billion to the
Australian economy; exports account for about AU$450 million alone. After the VZ, the
High Feature engine powered the all-new
VE Commodore. In contrast to previous models, the VE no longer utilises an
Opel-sourced
platform adapted both mechanically and in size. Throughout the 1990s, Opel had also been the source of many Holden models. To increase profitability, Holden looked to the
South Korean
Daewoo brand for replacements after acquiring a 44.6 percent stake in the company in 2002. The first of such models, the
Barina was replaced by the
Daewoo Kalos in 2005, still under the Barina nameplate. The following year, the Viva, based on the
Daewoo Lacetti, replaced the entry-level
Holden Astra Classic, although a new Astra came about in 2004. The
Captiva crossover SUV came next in 2006. After discontinuing the
Frontera and
Jackaroo models in 2003, Holden was only left with one
all-wheel drive model: the
Adventra, a Commodore-based station wagon. The fourth model to be replaced with a South Korean alternative was the
Vectra, by the mid-size
Epica in 2007. As a result of the split between GM and
Isuzu, Holden in 2008 lost of the naming rights to the
Rodeo nameplate. Consequently, the Rodeo will be facelifted and sold as the
Holden Colorado.
Corporate affairs and identity
As of 2008, chairman and managing director Mark Reuss heads operations at Holden. Executives of secondary departments include William Lesner, Alison Terry, Ian McCleave, Tony Hyde, Tony Stolfo, Alan Batey, Rodney Keane, Scott Sandefur, Pierre Matthee, Gene Stefanyshyn, Raymundo Garza, Mark Bernhard, and Fiona Harden. Vehicles are sold countrywide through the Holden Dealer Network (310 authorised stores and 12 service centres), which employs more than 13,500 people. In 1987,
Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) was formed in partnership with Tom Walkinshaw, who primarily manufactures modified, high-performance Commodore variants. To further reinforce the brand, HSV introduced the
HSV Dealer Team into the V8 Supercar fold in 2005 under the naming rights of HSV Toll Racing.
The logo, or "Holden lion and stone" as it's known, has played a vital role in establishing Holden's identity. In 1928, Holden's Motor Body Builders appointed
Rayner Hoff to design the emblem. The logo refers to a
prehistoric fable, in which observations of
lions rolling stones led to the invention of the wheel. With the 1948 launch of the
48-215, Holden revised its logo and commissioned another redesign in 1972 to better represent the company. The emblem was reworked once more in 1994.
Exports
Holden began to export vehicles in 1954, sending the
FJ to New Zealand. Exports to New Zealand have continued ever since, but to broaden their export potential, Holden began to cater their
Commodore,
Monaro and
Statesman models for both right- and left-hand drive markets. The
Middle East is now Holden's largest export market, with the Commodore sold as the
Chevrolet Lumina since 1998, and the Statesman since 1999 as the
Chevrolet Caprice. The long-wheelbase Statesman model was sold previously in
China as the Buick Royaum, before being replaced by the Statesman-based
Buick Park Avenue. Beginning in 2005, Statesman exports began in
South Korea, sold as the Daewoo Statesman, and later as the Daewoo L4X. Sales of the Monaro began in 2003 to the Middle East as the Chevrolet Lumina Coupe. Later on in the year, a modified version of the Monaro began selling in North America as the
Pontiac GTO, and under the Monaro name through
Vauxhall dealerships in the United Kingdom. This arrangement continued through to 2005 when the car was discontinued. Holden's move into international markets has been profitable; export revenue increased from AU$973 million in 1999 to just under $1.3 billion in 2006.
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