Earlier this month, General Motors announced it would retire the Holden brand in Australia by next year. Now, the Australian government has announced it will investigate the decision.
The inquiry was approved by the Australian senate unopposed in a vote this week, with politicians voicing their frustration over GM’s decision.
“Australians are angry and disappointed by General Motors’ decision to retire the Holden brand,” said Liberal frontbencher Jonathon Duniam.
“General Motors, stop selling the Holden dealers a clunker and compensate them fairly,” said Labor Party Senator for Queensland, James McGrath. “General Motors, this is not how you should treat honest, hard-working Australians. You should be ashamed of your shameful, rank, rancid, ethically deficient conduct.”
The inquiry was handed off to the Education and Employment References Committee, and will examine the brand’s retirement from Australia with regard to the impact on workers, dealers, and owners, as well as the eventual fate of Holden’s research and development assets. A report is expected by May of 2020.
The inquiry was applauded by members of the Australian auto industry, including the CEO of the Australian Automotive Dealer Association, James Voortman.
“This inquiry is crucial as the way in which Holden is allowed to exit Australia will set the benchmark for other offshore car manufacturers considering an exit from the country, a rationalization of their network or a change in their distribution model,” Voortman said.
“The withdrawal of GM from the Australian market leaves around two hundred dealerships in the lurch, and up to nine thousand workers out of a job,” he added.
Meanwhile, some dealers in the country have also expressed disappointment with the level of compensation GM has offered. The automaker justified its position in a statement.
“Holden is doing the right thing by its dealers during this difficult time,” said an unnamed Holden spokesperson. “In most cases, Holden dealers will receive compensation a factor of four times the average Holden new car profit/unit of all dealerships over the 2017-2019 fiscal years.”
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Source: whichcar
Comments
Interesting, could a new deal can be reached?.
Trax, Equinox, Acadia, Colorado, Colorado based Trailblazer.
If Holden’s Dealerships couldn’t sell this lineup, they deserve to be unemployed.
For some reason people buying Holden products only want rear wheel drive vehicles based on old , heavy platforms ( good as they may be ) , while everyone else is happy with Korean fwd vehicles. I am a business owner , and if a certain area ( in GM’s case , country ) isn’t interested in my products/ services , I go to a place where people are interested. Sorry , that is how it works in life.
Think they’ll learn a lot by simply looking inward.
Holden was a Commonwealth part of Canadian General Motors of Canada Limited and the US Corporation moved to remove First General Motors of Canada Limited it is now General Motors Canada and that went well. The US Corporation just took over the Dealers and buildings uncontested and sold them off for billions. This is robbing countries of its wealth by US Corporation. It will go on unless Australia maintains Holden and removes General Motors. There is no proof of Purchase.
My first car was a Hg. I had an Hyundai Accent for 10 sold it got a V200 Great Wall 2011 4×4 Diesel dual cab with a canopy cost me over $40,000 ended up having problems from day 1. Traded in for a Holden after 4 years was lucky to get $8500 with only 70,000km on the clock. Never buy a Great Wall again so many issues spent probably 4 months being repaired all up.
I wouldn’t touch a Great Wall with a barge pole. I’ll hang on to my VE Calais V and Commodore SSV.
surprising government motors did not go back to its roots with there hands out for the needful
GM is saving up money to produce more boring EVs…
Politicians and inquiry’s what a waste of time, resources and money. The outcome:- Hot air.
GM are going, please don’t come back.
May want to take note.
Most value leader priced vehicles like Mazda, Toyota and Hyundai in Australia are vehicles that either come from large RHD markets or supply large numbers of vehicles in RHD models to those markets.
Since GM has little to no presents in most RHD markets it is of little profit to make them for these small, markets.
Australia buys less cars than msny states here and is a small market NZ is even smaller. England has never really taken to American products and a Japan taxes most imports out of the market.
The large RWD Holdens hunt on for a long time and GM spent a lot of money trying to save them only to see the Hilux and Mazda 3 dominate the markets.
So given the choice do they invest more in the middle east and other small markets in South America where they buy more cars or can sell the same ones made in America with no changes or do they spend a lot of money tha has a lower ROI or none.
The Automotive market as well as many other markets have changed and doing buisness es as it has been is not going to continue in some ways.
It is not much different than how our steel industry died when other markets came on line and took the buisness as they could low ball the prices.
The real fear is not if but when China figures out how to build cheap cars well they will kill everyone’s buisness as consumers tend to buy by price. That is how Hyundai has grown so fast.
It is time to stop being emotional and political and find ways to win back buisness we have lost and learn how to be competitive again.
Corporations are not social institutions. They are for profit companies and they will do what they have to do to survive.
The horse has bolted. It will be an inquiry about almost nothing except to be a kangaroo court to blame GM for everything. The politicians had plenty of opportunities to make for better outcomes but did nothing.
The Australian government decided they could be the only government in thw world with an auto industry that had no subsidies. The previous Gillard/Rudd government guaranteed the subsidies through to 2020. The Abbott government was elected and in 2014 pulled the funding and the rug out from underneath Australias auto manufacturers. Treasurer Hockey goaded Holden on the floor of federal parliament and dared Holden to leave. Now 6 years after the event these pricks are crying foul What did they expect.
The way I see things, is that when Pontiac brought back the GTO, made in Australia, I doubt very mush that engineers from the USA did not have much say in the design. I grew up with Pontiac’s. My father had a 55, 57,59,62,63,64,66,68,70,72,. My sister had a 63 tempest, my older brother had a 67 Tempest Custom, (which I still have). The design should have had some resemblance of the 67 GTO, with a little modernization. Just like the Camaro when Chevrolet brought it back. but no. I feel the design was blaw to say the least. So not many sales. Maybe because of lack of advertising?? I don’t know. I don’t recall much advertising either for the Pontiac G8. It would be great if GM brought back the Pontiac, but because it was axed during bankruptcy, probably won’t happen. I own , besides the 67′ Tempest Custom, a 67 GTO, 67 Lemans, 03 Bonneville, 09 G 5, 09 G8 GXP and other GM trucks. Just my 2 cents worth
Of course many don’t appreciate that GM retiring the Holden brand name does NOT mean that this will be the end of General Motors down under in Australia. As I understand it, General Motors will continue in Australia but certainly as a much smaller company.
Going forward, GM in Australia will likely sell the Chevrolet brand and in my view will eventually also sell Cadillac down under. The Australian division of General Motors is as I understand it to be called General Motors Special Vehicles (GMSV).
Retiring the Holden brand name simply had to happen. Its less than 2% share of the Australian new market determined this long ago.
I’m gutted, holden man all my life . The government should be ashamed of itself by letting holden leave our shores ,you can’t tell me that GM didn’t know twelve months ago they were going to do this. They let me spend 50 thousand dollars on a brand new holden colorardo ltz my first-ever New car and now it’s worth nothing. They say they are going to compensate holden dealers what about me thanks for nothing scumbags.
Greg Greenway
Holden has a full line of newer crossovers, and a couple of special edition Colorados that we didn’t get in the states. Also GM just started building the Chevy Captiva in Thailand. I would say the decision to sell the plant in Thailand and to discontinue Holden came very recently. Due to the fact that Holden sales fell 29% in Australia last year. Making it Australias worst performing brand.
Everyone new as soon as Holden stopped building in Australia that people where going to stop buying Holden’s especially there biggest seller the commodore as it was no longer a commodore the government did absolutely nothing to try keeping production in Australia as they were still making there cut but know they want to do something haha we were buying Holden’s that where built buy Holden in Australia true Holden’s and now they just come with the Holden badge
Who’s to blame? The conservative side of Australia government and GM post GFC. The Abbot Government pulled financial support of local manufacturing (redirected funds to primary industries) and signed free trade agreements with Korea & others.
The Government at the time returned Locally built GM Ford & Toyota’s and bought BMW’s. Kia’s and Hyundai continued to receive major support from their government and with Australia’s reduced tariffs and taxes swarmed the Australian roads.
Pre GFC, Holden was a market leader had huge surplus and profits and invested strongly in the local markets and future RWD, AWD, LHD and RHD platforms for Holden, Vauxhall, Chevrolet and Pontiac. As GM stocks sank, the US government along with a bulging treasure chest down under, was used to throw the life raft to Detroit.
The halt on Hummer, Pontiac, Opel and now Holden are just business trash for what is ‘A Fire Sale’. Holden Manufacturing ceised and Commodores came from Opel, the Aussie public just stopped buying them as did overseas networks. The Sale of Opel meant along with cars not built here, cars would be built by another manufacturer. The Thailand manufacturing plant sale to Great Wall Motors meant the Colorado, Holden best seller, could no longer be built as well, Goodbye Holden.
Dare I say it but GM could have learnt from Ford. Ford couldn’t give away cars just a few years ago but there Refocus on Global platforms and branding aided them to rise off the canvas. Ford, like Mazda drilled down on a few models made and marketed well. The Mustangs, Rangers and small 4’s started selling themselves.
Will GM rise from the canvas? If they focus on a few cars done very well and using global platforms (ie. RHD, LHD, FWD AWD and of course RWD & EL) and badged them Chevrolet and Cadillac they just might.
However, I don’t believe Post GFC GM and Current Australian Government have the fight for that.
Having a review is like Cosby & Weinstein picking their Jurers.
RIP from a life long Holden Tragic (I’m going out to look at my 5 holdens, they may need a wash) Jay
PS. Trade Apprentice Training has fallen over 30% around Australia and over 50% in South Australia (GM Plant) since Ford, Toyota and Holden Plant Closures. Post Apocalypse Australia is here 40 years after the first Mad Max
I’m with you there Jason, there’ll never be a Chev in my driveway, I’d have loved to have a Camaro ZL1 up until a couple of weeks ago. Holden is dead, long live Holden. Unfortunately, due to water restrictions, I can’t wash my Calais V or SSV.
John Hutchinson’s comment / claim that “there’ll never be a Chev in (his) driveway” is understandable but nevertheless surprising given that his Calais V and SSV both have considerable Chevrolet DNA and their very existence is in no small part because of the Chevrolet Division of General Motors.
So, based on Johns claim, he would never own a Chevrolet Corvette or Chevrolet Camaro? Hard to believe!
This dislike of the Chevrolet brand is particularly difficult to follow when you considered that from the early 1920s until the early 1950s it was the Chevrolet brand and NOT the Holden brand that put Australians behind the wheel of their first car.
Chevrolet had a massive following in Australia until the Holden brand was released as the people’s car. From 1949 until 1970 Chevrolet continued as the General Motors Holden flagship luxury car while the Holden was for the mass market.
Make no mistake about it CHEVROLET has a longer history in Australia than Holden ever did and despite GM-H best efforts the Chevrolet brands popularity continued even after GM-H stopped Australian assembled versions.
You just have to look at the thousands of recently imported Chevrolets on Australian roads and of course the high percentage of Holdens that have been re-badged as Chevrolets.
GMs ‘Holden brand’ will be long remembered but equally Chevrolet for many reasons should accepted as a perfect replacement brand for Australia. Times are changing and we must change with them.
Yes Carl, Chev history and following is large in Australia. My Dads pride is his ‘39 and my brother a ‘29. We simply love them ( Especially those engines) Which makes the things written and reported even more perplexing.
I Agree, the increased presence of American cars/trucks on Aussie roads is noticeable. I see Dodge Rams and Mustangs so where are the Sierras and Camaros, How long until we see Corvettes, GMC trucks and Cadillacs. Importing LHD and converting them to RHD is simply not competitive. Do they expect us to pay $30-60k more then GM’s competition.
Go global or simply Go
I would like to see GM bring Cruise Origin to Australia. Origin will be in production starting 2022 so GM could have Origin in Australia in 2023. There are a lot of good reasons to make this happen.
Within 24 hours of GM pulling the pin on Holden, Toyota (NZ), had emailed anybody listed with Holden (NZ) with offers and support !! Pity GM could not do the same. Now that HSV is to go, with the new name GMSV ! OK they do Ram vehicles, and now some GM trucks. The cost of RHD conversion is the difference for customers to buy Mustang’s and other RHD vehicles. The Australian Government’s rules on importing vehicles is very difficult to navigate. Even with a Govt. Ministers help it is still a daunting task to import vehicles. Not like NZ where you merely select your vehicle and buy and ship, pay GST on cost, $1’K later you are on the road. No DRAMAS. RHD Mercedes Benz , BMW, Audi, V8 vehicles, no problem, at a similar price that people pay for cars etc. in the USA and Canada. I drive AMG 6.3 or 5.5 liter cars and SUV’s and enjoy the drives, for minimal original cost, the fuel bill is different though, but manageable. Now that HSV name is to go , any good , low volume HSV will be an instant classic in this part of the world. Ryan Walkinshaw’s HSV GTS 300 VT-2 may be worth a lot of $$ one day( the hand built limited edition model ) I guess he will running GMSV ?