Holden vows to deliver ‘dignified’ wind-down

Kristian Aquilina, interim chairman and managing director of GM Holden, says given the significance of the company through its history that it’s critical for it to work with all stakeholders to deliver “a dignified and respectful wind-down”.

The Holden brand will disappear at the end of the year after its owner General Motors announced it will no longer make right-hand-drive vehicles for New Zealand and Australia.

“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,” says Aquilina, who headed up the marque in this country before taking on his current position across the Tasman.

“The 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,” adds Aquilina, pictured left, alongside Julian Blissett, GM’s international operations senior vice-president, while addressing the media in Melbourne on February 17.

“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.”

Ed Finn, Holden NZ’s general manager of corporate affairs, says: “We stand by our products and Holden owners will continue to be supported by a national after-sales network for at least 10 years.

“Customers can be assured that Holden will honour all warranties and servicing agreements, as well as providing spare parts, repair, service and any required recall or field actions.

“Holden will work with its dealer network on appropriate transition arrangements, including offering dealers the opportunity to continue as authorised service outlets to support Holden customers.”

Holden has 828 employees in Australia and New Zealand, and 1,500 at plants in Thailand, which it will sell to China’s Great Wall Motors, reports Associated Press.

Moving forward, GM intends to focus its growth in New Zealand and Australia on specialty vehicles, such as the Camaro and upcoming Corvette. This opens the possibility of importing and re-engineering other US-only products not previously offered down under. It will also make the same move in Japan, Russia and Europe, where it doesn’t have significant scale.

David Crawford, chief executive of the Motor Industry Association, is unable to comment on the Holden announcement specifically or what may happen to dealerships. However, he says manufacturers are facing greater costs to meet more stringent safety and environmental standards. 

Holden has been operating in a regional market that’s getting smaller and other manufacturers are facing similar challenges.

“In the next decade, there will be rationalisation of brands and mergers to keep as profitable businesses,” says Crawford.

GM’s announcement this week follows canning local vehicle manufacturing a few years ago. The last Australian-built Holden rolled off its Adelaide assembly line in 2017 after the federal government axed a long-standing subsidy scheme.

The company has blamed “significant change globally and locally” for calling time on the marque. Despite implementing “a number of alternative strategies to try to sustain and improve the business”, ultimately, it’s the end of the road the struggling brand. Late last year, Holden also announced it would stop selling its most iconic car – the Commodore.

GM expects to take U$S1.1 billion (about $1.7b) worth of cash and non-cash charges this year as it cuts operations in the three countries.

The company has a long history in Australia with the Holden brand, where cars were designed and sold in the US and other markets. The 2008 and 2009 Pontiac G8 muscle car, for instance, was designed as a Commodore and built in Australia.

But government subsidies for manufacturing plants in Australia have been steadily withdrawn and the company has struggled. GM has a four per cent market share there last year, but it was higher in New Zealand at 8.5 per cent.