Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, South Australia, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last three years, it switched entirely to importing cars. It was headquartered in Port Melbourne, with major industrial operations in the states of South Australia and Victoria. The 164-year-old company ceased trading at the end of 2020. Holden's primary products were its own models developed in-house, such as the Holden Commodore, Holden Caprice, and the Holden Ute. However, Holden had also offered badge-engineered models under sharing arrangements with Nissan, Suzuki, Toyota, Isuzu, and then GM subsidiaries Opel, Vauxhall Motors, and Chevrolet. The vehicle lineup had included models from GM Korea, GM Thailand, and GM North America. Holden had also distributed GM's German Opel marque in Australia in 2012 and 2013.[2] Holden was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer in South Australia. In 1898, it moved into the automotive field. It became a subsidiary of the United States–based General Motors (GM) in 1931, when the company was renamed General Motors-Holden's Ltd. It was renamed Holden Ltd in 1998 and adopted the name GM Holden Ltd in 2005. Holden briefly owned assembly plants in New Zealand during the early 1990s. The plants had belonged to General Motors from 1926 until 1990 in an earlier and quite separate operation from GM's Holden operations in Australia. Holden's production became increasingly concentrated in South Australia and Victoria after the Second World War. However, Holden had factories in all the mainland states of Australia when GM took over in 1931, due to the combining of Holden and GM factories around the country under Holden management. In the postwar period, this decentralisation was slowly reduced and, by 1989, the consolidation of final assembly at Elizabeth, South Australia was largely completed, except for some operations that continued at Dandenong, Victoria until 1994. Engine manufacturing was consolidated at Fishermans Bend, Victoria, which was expanded to supply markets overseas. Although Holden's involvement in exports had fluctuated from the 1950s, the declining sales of large sedan cars in Australia led the company to look to international markets to increase profitability.[when?] In 2013, Holden revealed it received A$2.17 billion in Federal Government assistance in the past 12 years, the amount was much larger than expected.[3] Holden blamed a strong Australian currency, high manufacturing costs and a small domestic market among the reasons for exit of local manufacturing.[4] This led to the announcement, on 11 December 2013, that Holden would cease vehicle and engine production by the end of 2017.[5]
On 29 November 2016, engine production at the Fishermans Bend plant was shut down. On 20 October 2017, production of the last Holden designed Commodore ceased and the vehicle assembly plant at Elizabeth was shut down.[6] Holden produced nearly 7.7 million vehicles. On 17 February 2020, General Motors announced that the Holden marque would be retired by 2021.[7] On 30 October 2020, the GM Australia Design Studio at Fishermans Bend was shut down. Holden has been replaced by GM Specialty Vehicles (GMSV), which imports the Chevrolet Silverado and the Chevrolet Corvette.[8] The parts supplier known as the Holden Trade Club was renamed GM Trade Parts. An extensive Holden service network continues to help maintain the many Holdens that remain in operation in Australia.
In 1852 James Alexander Holden emigrated to South Australia from Walsall, Staffordshire,[9] U.K, and in 1856 established J. A. Holden & Co., a saddlery business in Adelaide.[10] In 1879 J. A. Holden's eldest son Henry James (H. J.) Holden, became a partner and effectively managed the company.[11] In 1885, German-born H. A. Frost joined the business as a junior partner and J. A. Holden & Co became Holden & Frost Ltd.[12] Edward Holden, James' grandson, joined the firm in 1905 with an interest in automobiles.[13][14] From there, the firm evolved through various partnerships, and in 1908, Holden & Frost moved into the business of minor repairs to car upholstery.[15] The company began to re-body older chassis using motor bodies produced by F. T. Hack and Co from 1914. Holden & Frost mounted the body, and painted and trimmed it.[16] The company began to produce complete motorcycle sidecar bodies after 1913.[17] After 1917, wartime trade restrictions led the company to start full-scale production of vehicle body shells. H. J. Holden founded a new company in late 1917, and registered Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd (HMBB) on 25 February 1919, specialising in car bodies and using the former F. T. Hack & Co facility at 400 King William Street in Adelaide before erecting a large four-storey factory on the site
When most people think of a rocket, they think of a tall round vehicle that flies into space. But the word “rocket” can mean two different things. The word can describe a type of engine. The word rocket also is used to talk about a vehicle that uses a rocket engine.
