General Motors has just announced plans to retire the Holden brand in Australia and New Zealand by 2021, while also winding down sales, design and engineering operations in both countries. Instead, GM will focus its strategies for the market on the GM specialty vehicle business.
The Detroit-based automaker painted the move as being a “decisive action to transform its international operations, building on the comprehensive strategy it laid out in 2015 to strengthen its core business, drive significant cost efficiencies and take action in markets that cannot earn an adequate return for its shareholders.”
It’s worth noting that GM Authority recommended GM replace Holden with Chevrolet in Australia and New Zealand almost a decade ago.
“I’ve often said that we will do the right thing, even when it’s hard, and this is one of those times,” said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. “We are restructuring our international operations, focusing on markets where we have the right strategies to drive robust returns, and prioritizing global investments that will drive growth in the future of mobility, especially in the areas of EVs and AVs.
“While these actions support our global strategy, we understand that they impact people who have contributed so much to our company. We will support our people, our customers and our partners, to ensure an orderly and respectful transition in the impacted markets.”
GM President Mark Reuss added that the company explored various options to continue Holden operations, but could not find options that would overcome “the challenges of the investments needed for the highly fragmented right-hand-drive market, the economics to support growing the brand, and delivering an appropriate return on investment.”
“At the highest levels of our company we have the deepest respect for Holden’s heritage and contribution to our company and to the countries of Australia and New Zealand,” said Reuss.
“After considering many possible options – and putting aside our personal desires to accommodate the people and the market – we came to the conclusion that we could not prioritize further investment over all other considerations we have in a rapidly changing global industry.
“We do believe we have an opportunity to profitably grow the specialty vehicle business and plan to work with our partner to do that,” he concluded.
Holden ZB Commodore
GM says that in Australia and New Zealand plus related export markets, customers can be assured that GM will honor all warranties and continue to provide servicing and spare parts. Local operations will also continue to handle all recall and any safety-related issues, working with the appropriate governmental agencies.
GM also announced plans to shutter its Rayong plant in Thailand, which would result in the automaker discontinuing new vehicle sales operations in Thailand.
As part of these actions, GM expects to incur net cash charges of approximately $300 million and total cash and non-cash charges of $1.1 billion. These charges will primarily be incurred in the first quarter and continuing through the fourth quarter of 2020. In addition, these charges will be considered special for EBIT-adjusted, EPS diluted-adjusted and adjusted automotive free cash flow purposes.
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Comments
It’s only a matter of time. GM is becoming a Chinese and American brand only.
It’s an end of a era that stretches 150 years.
GM isn’t a brand.
You also forgot Latin America – where Chevrolet is the best-selling brand in most markets, especially those that matter.
Yeah Mark D ? Exactly where is Chevrolet the best-selling brand? Gm is/has failed worldwide.
Notice how the layoffs of longtime employees and the cancelation of 160 Holden dealers in Australia and New Zealand are accounted for: “these charges will be considered special for EBIT-adjusted, EPS diluted-adjusted and adjusted automotive free cash flow purposes.” That way shutting down 2 entire countries and the thousands of people that are affected won’t affect Barra and Reuss’ year end bonuses.
Only a matter of recession before GM merges with it’s Cruise partner, Honda.
Honda is strong, aside North America, in every market where The General is weak. Honda is number two in Japan, world’s third biggest market, and has great growth potential in Europe.
GM is now a regional player in the Americas and China. China is fueled through JVs and is headed for serious economic slowdown.
Barra harmed GM by selling Opel as opposed to introducing SUVs and cutting costs like PSA. Barra should have been capable of accomplishing what Taveres has done. Long-term GM lost it’s best R&D center which will harm future production.
GM and Ford are second rate automakers. Sad!
Soon to be chinese only….
Yeah well why not, Ford is already there.
Wow, that sucks. I understand the money made from US, Asia, Lat Am is great but at least some crumbs had to be kicked to a former producer with some decent products to boot. Also either the economy is about to implode (which I suspect) and GM is ahead of Ford and Toyota to cut losses or it’s a major mistep, we’ll see.
I don’t think we yet realize how significant of an era this currently is for GM.
Whether you like Barra, hate Barra, or are one of the people in between, there is no question that what GM is doing now in terms of corporate structuring and financial positioning is the exact opposite of what the “Old GM” did in the many decades leading up to the 2009 bankruptcy. The Old GM was obsessed with volume, the old “a car for every purse and purpose” adage that quit being relevant sometime in the 1970’s. The “New GM” is all about maximizing profits at all costs, including immense cutting and restructuring, all for the purpose of repositioning itself for the supposedly coming “revolutionary” phase in the auto industry:
EV’s.
Everything GM is doing today, EVERYTHING, it all leads to EVs. All the model-killing, labor-cutting, the deaths and demise of brands. We need to realize how MASSIVE this gamble is. What’s happening now is arguably the greatest gamble in the history of GM. And frankly, I can’t sit here and say that it’s a surefire plan, because I’m not convinced that EVs are really going to explode in popularity this coming decade. I’m not. I have so far seen no indication that EVs will be something other than a niche anytime soon. Yet GM goes all-in here. The death of Holden is a direct consequence of cutting costs to shift cash to EVs.
If this gamble pays off, and EVs for whatever reason skyrocket in popularity and become a majority of sales in the auto industry, then we could witness GM ride the new wave of electricity back to its old position as one of the most, if not the most formidable automotive corporation in the world. But if it fails…GM is in more trouble than they were in 2009. If they fail, best case scenario would likely mean the death of Cadillac and/or Buick, at least in the USA. Worst case scenario would likely be bankruptcy, this time for good.
And the chances of failure sure look higher than success. This next decade is even more critical than the last, because if ICE cars continue to be extremely popular, and EVs don’t grow and expand, GM will have blown off tens of billions for nothing. Time will tell…
Up to the 1960s GM focused on MAIN Street, not Wall Street, Government Street of Legislative Street. Only Main Street is where the consumer is. Yet GM is now focusing almost solely on the EV and AV sectors, but where is the market?
By leaving Europe GM admitted it cannot compete in a highly demanding market with sophisticated consumers and competitors. Now it is retreating to markets where either the products are not sophisticated, the consumer has limited wealth or fails to comprehend what a dynamic driving experience is. Call it low tech appeal. Effectively it is saying GM cannot compete in demanding markets. That is scary.
I agree. This country- and Europe for that matter- is not ready for an “all EV future.”
First, there is the issue of taxation. Most revenues for roads come from gas tax. Right now, EVs are getting off free. If the market for EVs grows significantly, each charge will be taxed to the point were a charge is just as expensive as a tank of gas.
Second, will the nation be able to support hundreds of millions of vehicles daily being charged? The cost of electricity will skyrocket.
Finally, there is the issue of those little oil companies like Exxon, BP, Etc. You think they are just going to go into oblivion to protect a few trees. Theirs is probably the most powerful lobby in Washington and those folks in Texas- the second biggest state in the US- are not going to hand over their economy without a major fight.
As for AVs, there is zero interest on my part and most Americans. It is just a colossal waste of money and resources.
I agree Louis, the automakers that will survive will be the ones that gives the customer what they want- period- whether it be gas, diesel, HEVs or EVs. GM is now an also ran in the world automotive sector, and unlike the 1960s and 1970s, they have little if any clout in dictating what they customer will buy. You think they would have learned their lesson from the 1980s.
Ohio just passed a gas tax which forces EV and hybrid owners to pay an extra fee to make up the difference since they aren’t going to be funding it like gas guzzlers.
When I register my car yearly I pay $100 more than an ICE car. That’s over 400 gallons worth of gas based on the gas tax. So EVs are going to pay their share – just differently. And that’s as a flat rate regardless of how many miles driven.
Oil and gas will still be used in other industries and it’s not like this is going to happen overnight – it will take decades before all vehicles on the road are EVs. EVs will actually help the oil and gas industry because it will allow the resource to last longer than it otherwise would.
Finally, autonomous vehicles will happen. Whether they make sense everywhere is a different discussion. In larger cities, they make a lot of sense. In the suburbs of larger cities, they make some sense. If you are in a sparsely populated area they don’t make much sense.
GM has spent billions on EVs for what result ? A Bolt (aka Daewoo Kalos) with a slightly longer range and some nicer trim.
Meanwhile the rest of the business is falling to pieces….
Don’t forget about AVs.
If the world isn’t ready for widespread EVs yet, it REALLY isn’t ready for autonomous vehicles.
I agree that GM’s push for EVs is a risky move, but the biggest gamble they’re making is whether AVs will take off. The technology and infrastructure is nowhere near ready.
If EVs are GM’s hail Mary, AVs are them going 5-wide in the Red Zone.
Autonomous vehicles will be phased in slowly. Think about the shuttles at airports between the parking lots and terminal or rental car companies. Maybe tourist sites in a city.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sebastianblanco/2020/02/06/columbus-is-first-city-in-us-with-autonomous-shuttles-in-residential-areas/#5fed83056d7f
GM is also looking at hydrogen for powering their vehicles.
Barra has had to quit so many markets due to sales drops and GM transforming into a dead brand walking outside China and the Americas. She’s been very good at reacting to the brands many duds and failures right down to new weaknesses within the Chevrolet brand given the myrid of brand choices.
GM missed a fantastic opportunity to increase profits, volume and leadership when it missed the boat on PSA–8 percent margins in Europe, transformed Opel in 18 months, and the only car maker not to be loosing money right now.
My guess is that Barra views both Cadillac and Buick as dead men walking in North America hence Hummer as a new sub brand, talk of a Corvette brand and the creation of an EV only brand which would be ridiculous if Chevrolet weren’t damaged goods everywhere except Latam.
Carlos Taveres understands efficiency and frugality in a manner no other auto executive does right now. If the FCA plan falls apart I hope GM does the smart thing.
I see Dodge and Jeep being perfect fits for Oz longterm with stronger options than the new GMSV.
I love it!!! It’s about time
I didn’t realise that badge engineering was ‘so unprofitable’. To say that engineering for low volume right hand drive markets is ‘cost prohibitive’ and ‘unprofitable’ is total BS. If that is the case, then why is the Australian market now ‘flooded’ with product from major European makes? Last time I checked these makers were in countries that ‘drove on the wrong side of the road’ too. This just doesn ‘t make any sense as Holden as a relatively low volume manufacturer was able to engineer vehicles for both RHD and LHD on a budget many times less than that of the American Parent. This leaves us Aussies very bitter, especially when GM accepted Billions of Australian Tax payer dollars in the form of industry grants …..GM, you should have sold off Holden to Guido Dumarey when you had the chance. At least Australia would still have it’s ‘Own Car’ and a viable manufacturing industry that was not limited by ‘Not being made in America’. Shame on you Mary, shame on you GM. Shame on the whole American GM management structure who forced substandard product on the Australian car buying public.
One of GM’s mistake was to keep the names of all the foreign brands they acquired. If they would have just used a single brand, “rebadging” wouldn’t be an issue. Ford for example entered those markets the right way.
Help me to understand, but why do you think Australian auto manufacturing is viable in today’s global market? The Australian market is very small (only about 1 million sales last year) so for viable volumes the majority of production would have to be for export, your labor costs aren’t the cheapest, and you’re very far away from everything so shipping components to and vehicles away is expensive.
Yep. I’ve said since they early 80’s when all of their genuine Motor Divisions were finally shuttered that it was all over. GM just took Chevrolet engines for the most part and Buick’s 3.8, redubbed them ‘GM’ engines with liters as the identifier and stuck everything into the new One GM bodies. It was bad enough when those companies under the GM holding umbrella were closed and just turned into motor divisions but at least they still were unique and separate entities in their own way. They should have just let everything wind down with dignity right then and there. We wouldn’t have ever had to go through the last 3 decades of badge engineering.
When the bankruptcy and bailout hit, it was really time to rip the bandaid off and restructure or completely begin again as a new single company. Yet they didn’t do it then either. There were those who at that time just wanted to close GM as it were and just continue as the Chevrolet Motor Company like Ford or Toyota. A single entity with 1 luxury division (Lincoln,Lexus,Cadillac). We’re just seeing that play out little by little now anyway… The only problem is, GM has damaged Chevrolet the last 3 decades too since the badge engineering era began. They don’t seem to want to restore Chevrolet to it’s former glory either. I’m not even sure where we go from here… Australian’s are just going through what American’s have been going through as well.
Ford aside from Europe mostly failed without local brands. GM understood economic nationalism and that people wanted local, not US brands.
Ford has always done poorly in OZ. Holden imploded when local manufacturing ended. This hurt Holden worse than Toyota because it was a national brand.
hey bahama todd, Australian Vehicles are better then most vehicles due to the nature of the Australian environment, the desires and expectations of the Australian driver and the ingenuity of Australian designers.
Holden used to have a huge market share of the 1.2 million car market. Australians are very loyal to a brand but when the brand is not loyal in return the market smacks the brand hard, Mitsubishi discovered this, holdens went down the same path and expected a different result. the Holden cars were exported to the world and were awesome vehicles to drive, just ask the stig. but GM just served up crap cars, gearbox issues sunk the cruze plus the fact that it was an older chassis, with small engines. gutless crap. labor cost were expensive and when mary barra shut down local manufacturing the us dollar was below the aussie dollar. $1.17 us to $ 1 AUD. now it $0.65 us to $1 AUD.
then the us unions jumped up and down that cars sold in america by gm should be made in america, this limited imports of the SS and the Statesman to just 1000 cars per year.
the holden sold well in the middle east but as a chevy. till the middleeastern people gave the us the bird and because the holden was labeled a chev sale declined. component shipping? Australia made everthing in country.
The European manufacturers produce RHD vehicles for the UK. Japan is RHD. Hyundai-Kia also sells in the UK, the Indian subcontinent, SE Asia, and Southern and Eastern Africa. GM has abandoned all those markets.
The decision to close GMH was made in 2017, when GM left Europe. Without the largest RHD market, it was no longer feasible to design for RHD. GM changed or updated their entire fleet since then, without a single model being engineered for RHD.
It wouldn’t have made any difference what happened with GMH, it was destined to close once the UK was abandoned.
Unfortunately, the writing was on the wall as soon as GM sold off Opel/ Vauxhall (the only remaining arm of GM still dedicated to producing RHD vehicles and the source of the majority of the vehicles sold under the Holden brand.
The timing is curious though. I really do think we are on the verge of an economic downturn (considering car sales are down across the board and the Corona virus has effectively shut down China’s economy). This could be GM attempt at belt-tightening before it really takes hold.
It’s probably a face saving retreat from the Oceania region. GM never ceases to amaze me with their constant and costly business strategy changes. I don’t feel too bad because GM will only have a footprint in the USA and China.
Next to close will be Korea followed by South America and maybe Canada!
The global automotive industry is going through significant changes. By decades end, Mary will be hailed as either an industry legend or another failed GM CEO that presided over it’s ultimate demise. I hope for the US investors, taxpayers and workers the legend pathway will occur.
Similar to a divorce, I am signing off now but will continue to treasure my VE SS – thanks GMH!
Excellent points, particularly on Barra. Like I said in my above comment, the two most likely options in the next decade or two will be
1) GM expands rapidly, riding the wave of EVs
2) EVs tank, and GM collapses under the weight of tens of billions spent on technology that never took hold
or even a third option
3) EVs slowly grow, but not fast enough for GM to be profitable on them. More cost cutting, more restructuring, GM stays alive but shrinks even smaller, likely leaves Korea, maybe South America, and Cadillac may be put to sleep.
I think option 3 is probably the most likely, but not by much over the other two. Maybe a 40% chance, with the other two 30%? Either way, Barra will either be a hero here, or a greater villain than even Rick Wagoner or Roger Smith were.
Barra will go down fighting if anything. Wagoneer and Smith were COWARDS, who believed in vanity metrics over real business health, and often made short-sighted decisions at worst, and in actions at best. I know who I’d rather work for….
Spot on Pablo. If Generous Motors were wondering why they couldn’t sell cars in Australia since 2017, this will really get them scratching their heads. Like you, I’ll hang onto my SSV and Calais V, they’ll be worth a quid in a few years time. RIP GMH, piss off GM.
as a Holden dealer employee here in Australia, this comes as NO surprise. Mary Barra et al have let the company wither and die, poor management is to blame
yes the writing was on the wall after GM kicked Holden buyers in the teeth by shutting down local production. they failed to read the market. again. then they took Holden down the “woke” path. dropped the grunt and performance history and sponsered alternate lifestyle festivals. Australians like high performance cars that are RWD. the last offering from GM was inept both in Australia and for Buick.
holden designed and produced cars that were outstanding in ride and handling.
Mary Barra must be sacked or GM is dead.
FORD has WON, they have no problem building RHD cars, i will have to buy a mustang now, i was hanging on till the Cadillac CT5 arrived but that’s not happening anymore.
VALE HOLDEN. don’t buy GM. BDS
Hopefully, you realize Ford isn’t doing too well financially? So I’m not really sure what Ford has won. Ford has RHD because they are still in Europe with RHD vehicles. Once GM got rid of Opel GM didn’t have a source for RHD vehicles anymore. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if RHD vehicles weren’t created as part of the EV effort.
Indeed there has been a lot of talk that Ford might not even survive the coming recession. And one is coming for sure.
I guess I offended some people by pointing that Ford is in a lot of financial trouble.
I don’t like it either, but shooting the messenger doesn’t help anyone.
Try the recession part, Nate. That’s my guess.
Well if they are denying that, then they really have problems.
Won?, Are recalls the grand prize? Lol. Ford pulled out of S.A. where GM thrives but it’s no moaning about them and Ford CEO is about to off-road himself out a job after losing $1billion thinking “everyone” in the US wants a 4×4 truck or a Mustard.
BTW, yes GM winding down Holden isn’t good.
GM left South Africa in 2017.
Not only South Africa, but the whole area driving on the left side of the road, from Namibia to Kenia. Selling the manufacturing places to Isuzu.
Other countries in sub-saharan Africa which could have been serviced from South Afrika are left alone, too.
Once again South Africa is a RHD region. If Opel was their primary source of RHD vehicles without Opel there are no cars.
Ford will survive. GM, Ford, ah….FCA or something like that will all need to adapt and make mistakes to profit from the industry and consumer changes to come. He makes makes the mistakes and learns will be stronger. Also, you can bet that the manufacturers are all gazing into their crystal balls and, with some trepidation, throwing the dice at times. There are some great minds at these companies but as often is the case the boardroom lowers the boom on what could have been a production vehicle to remember. The loss of Holden is akin to moving your armies around the board to shore and support other areas of battle. Money not spent there is used in another region. BTW it’s Mustang. Name calling takes us back to schoolyards.
I didn’t catch it earlier, South America is where GM thrives and Ford is a no-show, not RHD Africa
Nothing will give me more pleasure than to see GM wither and die, If we can’t have Holden in Australia then nothing is better than have Chev here !!
WTF! You don’t make any sense at all with that statement you’ve just made. GM owns Chevrolet, Holden etc. Stop smoking the drugs man.
Don’t they sell Camaro & Corvettes down under?
Corvette never officially sold here, Camaro is imported by byHSV and converted to RHD by them
The problem is these are small markets. The real issue is Toyota and Mazda dump really cheap product into these markets built in Asia already designed for RHD markets.
It is no longer 1950 where American brands were at a advantage. Today due to high labor and development cost these markets are gone. People want cheap cars and truck and cheap imports are no longer feared.
Watch Ford will be next.
It is hard to build anything here and export it at a low price due to labor cost.
Even the product built overseas is not cheap to develop for limited markets while a Toyota and a Mazda both home market is RHD a market GM is blocked out of due to tariffs.
To be honest the future in the automotive market may not be mfg vehicles.
The future may be designing and selling technology.
Look at the tech companies where they design, and develop product but they don’t mfg much of it. They sell the tech or they licensed it to others. GM may be in for something like this while only mfg where it is profitable.
It is not a matter of if but when Chine starts exporting more vehicles globally and when they do everyone will be in trouble. Unless tariffs are applied they will destroy many markets for other MFGs.
The China problem has been kicked down the road since the late 80’s. Only in recent years has much been said. But it may be already too late.
WW3 has already started and it is a financial war. China is doing exactly what Amazon is doing by low balling prices and driving out MFGs globally till they are the only option left.
China is probably DOA because the accidentally released bioweapon oh um “Coronavirus” is literally killing the workforce off..
Here’s a conspiracy theory; maybe the U.S. planted the Coronavirus in China to weaken their market. Again a conspiracy theory, but how else could they be slowed down?
Some Chinese newswires are finally admitting that it was a bioweapon that was mishandled at their facility in Whuhan but of course it from “anonymous” sources, in which I heard of this 2 months ago.
Ford has already exited the Australian market.
Ford doesn’t MFG in country but they still import select models like the Mustang. Same on the Rangers as I think they come from Vietnam.
True. Like Ford, GM will have some presence in Australia and New Zealand with exports of American-built vehicles but under a different arrangement using their GM-badged names this time around.
What American built vehicles do you think would be at all competitive in Australia? Pickup trucks or something?
Nothing manufactured here is built for right hand drive.
Note that the Colorado wil, be al, new in a year. The GMC Acadia is already sold as a Holden and they just need to change the grill. The Corvette is going RHD.
Expect Cadillac will find some models going RHD too.
GM I suited go sell trucks and assorted SUV and CUV models as they are very popular there.
The segments like the Mazda 3 and lower end Hyundai models are built and sold so cheap it is impossible to compete unless GM can low dollar the models in Asian countries or China.
When the competition is building the Malaysia and other low labor countries GM just can not build them here.
? Ford sells the biggest selling vehicle in Australia.
Here are the top ten in Australia.
Toyota Hilux
Ford Ranger
Toyota Corolla
Toyota RAV4
Mitsubishi Triton
Huyundai i30
Mazda CX-5
Kia Cerato
Nissan XTrail
Mazda3
Get your hand off it Derek, just like Holden, Ford has fallen down the most sales list and the Asian market rules the best and biggest selling cars in Australia. Why? Because Australians are tight arses.
Ford are still here in Australia, they closed the factories making cars here in 2016
GM is getting out of just about every country besides for China and South Korea. Oh how the mighty eventually fall. GM can’t compete in many markets around the world, and why is that? They have terrible marketing, and poor products compared to their competition.
I understand they are trying to save money by getting out of weak performing markets, but they are also losing incredible amount of market share as well by doing so. GM once dominated the U.S. market at well over 60% decades ago, when they actually made good vehicles, but foreign competition surpassed them and now with Kia/Hyundai coming out with very attractive offerings as of late, one has to question how does GM even compete well against them too? GM’s culture just doesn’t have the pizazz anymore, they aren’t willing to take risks which I understand, but being too conservative is equally damaging to its reputation and image with lackluster product offerings.
Not taking risks? I call major BS.
What do you call GM’s major push into EV and AV? Those are two enormous risks that should pay off in spades. And it will be then that GM will return to the markets it got out of or is getting our off… while everyone else scrambles to make money on electric cars.
Drink a lot of Kool-Aide do ya?
gm’s AV/EV bet is their hail mary play. i sure hope it works out.
Exactly, steve.
Mr. Cadillac: “…trying to save money by getting out of weak performing markets, but they are also losing incredible amount of market share…”
What’s the logic of continuing loosing money to preserve market share???
I said it a year ago. GM is incompetent in every market it operates, so it decides to leave by “strategy”. GM will be dead within 10 years.
I just want some company buys Chevrolet to keep my favorite brand alive.
Thats some sad news, I studied in Australia for 2 years in 95/96, and every kid i knew wanted a Holden. It was the most popular car in Australia.
GM must be one of the worst run global corporations that have ever existed. Im starting to believe that the bailout was a mistake.
Worst ever existed? How so? Examples, please…
Retreating from Europe Thailand Australia/New Zealand and Africa. Getting a bailout at tax payers expense. are just VERY recent examples.
Oh, wheres Pontiac and Oldsmobile? GM must start growing soon!
It was a loan! Get it correct!!! Paid back in full!!
“Debt-to-Equity” swap. Common financial tool used by many market-capitalized businesses. Saved a lot of jobs and has made GM stronger than ever for the future.
They really just gave up without a fight. Maybe if they didn’t close the local factories, this wouldn’t be happening. Sad.
Local production was not an option. The only way to make a go of it in Australia is importing from lower cost markets.
It all hinges on GM Thailand. With that gone, GMH was no longer viable.
As shown with discontinuing the Oldsmobile and Pontiac brands, and now again with Holden, GM’s idea of management is to cut (as well as to de-content what is left). Anybody can cut something – it’s finding a way to make things work with what you have and respecting your heritage that shows proper management.
They had to kill off Oldsmobile and Pontiac though. You can’t just keep manufacturing vehicles like it’s the 70s when your market share is half what it was back in the day.
There are just so many more competitors now in the North American market, and not enough room for half a dozen divisions.
There just was no room for Oldsmobile and Pontiac. You can slot Buick between Chevrolet and Cadillac. What segment was Pontiac and Oldsmobile addressing? Buick is probably only hanging around because it’s popular in China.
Union, Unions are big part of the problem. However you all seem to forget GM is a business to make money for the company and Investors. They are doing well and closing operation where there is no money in it for them. GM can’t compete when countries don’t pay the same labor cost and then can sell cars for a lot cheaper. GM biggest Markets are the US and China. GM can with new Trade rules the Trump is working for make the cars in the US and export them cheaper than making them in a factory in any of this countries. Its all about economics. Many people get upset with GM making cars and trucks in Mexico, yes labor is cheaper but it also is because they export out of Mexico to other countries with little or no Tariff and new Canada, US, Mexico agreement, Mexican will be making more money and more product can be built in the US. They are also looking at how markets are doing and car sales go up and down and if they are down now is a good time to prepare for it.
There are no Unions in Thailand.
The wrong people are running ( RUINING) GM. There is something VERY wrong with American CEO’s, GM Boeing, General Electric. Iconic company’s that are systematically being destroyed by the idiot CEO’s not knowing what they are doing. GM CEO and stooges are trying to create a company in there own image that can profit off of mediocrity. Lets outsource GM management to compitant people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What an ignorant comment. You’re not going to be able to fully judge this current leadership for years anyway, so your already ill-informed attempt is pointless. Are they frustrating? EXTREMELY. But you can’t judge them fully until we see if EVs take off. If they don’t, by all means, have at them. At that point, its deserved.
Its not just the current leaders of GM. The Roger Smith days will not go down as the shining zenith of GM’s storied past. Nor the directionless darkness of the 90’s. Both decades the company was hollowed out by some of the most insane cost cutting ever conjured. And always a promise of a shining city on a hill that would be GM’s future!!!!!!!! But as always the road was a bureaucratic swamp of indecision and constant change of direction. The city on the hill was a public relation con job that never was real. For over Twenty years GM was a company I loved and was close too, always with HOPE they would find the way. No not ignorant, disappointment at seeing the same FINANCE mentality forever eroding away the once great GM. Thats what it is about………….
I can’t say better…
So meanwhile we all sit back and watch management sell of manufacturing so we the customers have nothing we want to buy, while management fill their retirement funds so nothing matters as it all written into their contract .
meanwhile your customers are out of a job and no longer can afford to buy a new Vehicle . (:-)
Why would their customers be out of a job?
if you can’t compete, then retreat!!!
Based on the comments here it is fearful of how bad the public is out of touch with how the global economy works or in cases like this not works.
In the past America was not only the cheapest place to have things made but the only place in many cases. Holding the advantage of the industrial revolution and also making our way though WW2 in tact we had an advantage no one else had for decades. This grew our economy in ways others never could.
America has one way to grow in the future and that is to focus on tech and service based business.
To grow MFG we have two choices. One more automation or two people will have to be willing to work for less. As we already know that will never fly. Corporations are now looking for ways to survive.
GM is investing in technology and trying to create themselves into a tech firm. FCA is looking to merge with PSA to cut cost of development and to try to move production to cheaper plants globally. Ford right now is looking to partner and to be honest are at risk as they really have no handle on cost cutting or technology that is all their own. The Ford family is trying to buy into to others for tech to cut cost but it is risky.
We in America will have to learn to do things differently as GM would for sure fail if they kept to what they have been doing.
I work for a company now that is under threat by web tech firms. We are cutting cost, focusing on new marketing new core products and trying to be innovative in our ways of retailing to keep customers we have and to create new customers globally. This is not easy and there is a lot of risk but to nothing we would just be setting the clock to our own demise.
The people at GM are very competent and are doing all they can to try to keep GM Viable after decades of inaction and decay. The folks that failed GM were the folks in charge in the 60’s-90’s. By then the damage was done and all that was left was a very inefficient company with a bloated system of cost.
The other factor is people in this country are now used to a level of living that is much higher than most of the world. When competing in a global market you can no longer pay people to MFG products that someone else where will do for pennies on the dollar. The work force here either needs to learn to make less or to step up and work towards focusing on more tech based industries and or services. Sadly many in the American work force have trouble showing up everyday and they can’t pass a simple drug test. We have gotten lazy as a work force and really forgot what our grandfathers did to just put food on the table.
Life is what you make of it and if you are not willing to adapt to the future you will be in a world of hurt be it a company or individual. Trust me I am adapting right now.
i agree with everything you’ve written but here is what worries me about gm’s AV/EV bet.
has gm made a convincing case that shows AVs will be more convenient and less expensive than owning your own vehicle and at the same time profitable for gm? how does this world of AVs, e-scooters,e-bicycles etc … all come together?
some say gm can monetize the data they gather from their riders and i think that is the service business you are alluding to. but isn’t that the same data you can get from a person’s smart phone today? how is it different?
as far as EVs … is gm investment going to give them a significant competitive advantage over say toyota who hasn’t done squat when it comes to EVs? i get the feeling that gm bought into some argument that batteries were going to improve at a rate somewhat similar to moore’s law for semiconductors. obviously, that hasn’t happened.
anyway, i hope you are right and gm is holding their cards close to their vest because thus far, the results have been underwhelming.
Toyota has EV tech but is just not sure how to sell it since there is little money in the mass production low cost models yet. GM is pretty advanced but just looking for a way to sell the tech at a profit and Hummer appears to be their answer. Once sold there they can lower cost of components and pay off development cost that will lead to profitable smaller EV products.
The main players are Toyota, GM VW and Hyundai. They all have the cash and resources to go it alone if needed and to sell technology to others. They can pick and choose what they want to partner in to save development cost. So many others have to partner just because they don’t have the cash.
Even with GM in pretty good shape right now the future for every automaker is going to be tough. Things are going to have to change and that is just what we are seeing in cases like this. What worked 50 years ago no longer works today.
The company in real trouble is Ford. If it were not for the stock being held by the Ford family the odds are Ford would have been bought out at the low stock price they are at. They are not as advanced in EV as many thing. When you have to buy into another company like they did they just did not have the staff or cash to do it themselves.
GM has even done work for the Ford Mach E program.
GM is basically a USA-China Company. And even in China is failing.
It’s an end of a 100+ years-era. They threw the heritage in the trash. CAMARO is the next, then GM itself.
Next year, when I come back to Chicago, I’ll purchase my last GM vehicle, probably an Impala.
I’m out of here.
Failing in China? Please explain
Three questions, respectfully submitted, to everyone:
1. Since GM is apparently run by the “wrong people”, what would you do differently that would measurably improve GM’s current Balance Sheet, Product Portfolio and position it better for the future.
2. Does everyone understand the historical challenges in producing, selling vehicles profitably in those regions / competitive landscapes?
3: What’s in your garage(s)…and why haven’t you imported a Holden?
A purchase is a vote.
Exactly. The loudest whining here is coming from people who still think GM would return to number one simply by introducing a new Riviera or Eldorado. It’s a different world and a different industry now. Things change. I fully understand the Holden fans in Australia having an emotional and nostalgic reaction to this, but just like with Oldsmobile and Pontiac–if you loved them so much, did you buy one? GM finally is being run for profit, not for being the number one in units. I miss Saab, but I didn’t buy one.
You forgot the new Fleetwood Brougham d’elegance, 270 inches long or more….. and you have to have a wood paneled wagon of some sort in there too……
I have owned a 2004 GTO, 2008.5 G8 GT and now own a 15 SS. These cars were/are really much better than their American made products with the exception of maybe the CTS-V and Corvette. You could easily notice the difference between a product made in Australia and one made here in the States, it was just better. The difference between the G8 and all the garbage Pontiac was putting out was striking.
Let’s be honest the G8 was a lot more than other Pontiacs. So you’re not comparing apples to apples.
Answers:
1. GM is being run by people who want to put us in self-driving, electric cars. Great if you want to be chauffeured, but I like driving. I don’t look forward to having a “mobility appliance”. I hate to think of how much insurance will be in 15-20 years if you want the “privilege” of driving yourself. By the way, who started the push for self-driving cars anyway?
2. If GM had got their act together long ago and developed a universal platform, then they could have kept Opel, Vauxhall and Holden. Also, with the move to electric platforms, there is less of an excuse for not having right handers as space is freed up due to not having an ICE.
3. I test drove and wanted a G8 GT but it was priced over my budget at the time. I would have loved to get a SS, but I have a family of 6. I want to like GM, I really do, but every time I replace a vehicle, their selections are over-priced, under performing or just boring for my tastes.
Opel, Vauxhall, Holden all need or needed to go away!!! Thank goodness GM had the smarts to pull the trigger, instead of keeping those boat anchors for the rest of the century.
GM is better off without these companies, now GM can focus on the four brands that they have. Chevy, Buick, Cadillac, GMC/Hummer.
I agree GM was right in retiring / selling its Opel, Vauxhall and Holden brands as it had previously done with Pontiac, Oldsmobile and LaSalle, but Buick and Hummer need to also be retired and soon!
CHEVROLET can effectively cover the broader world market, CADILLAC can cover the world premium market and GMC could be used for commercial vehicles, trucks, SUVs and 4 wheel drive models. That’s three brands worldwide and GM needs no other brands period.
This is devastating news to Australia and New Zealand workers and they have my sympathy.I am a little surprised due to an article on this blog not too long ago that the Camaro ZL1 and the new C8 Corvette would be built in RHD by Holden to compete in the supercar market overseas.I have to say that Mary Barra has done a great job at GM since day one,She inherited a financial mess from before and has turned things around.Quality is up and the awards keep coming in from JD Power.I bought a then new 2010 Silverado 1500 4WD and have since bought a then new 2017 Camaro SS and a 2019 Silverado Custom Trail Boss Z71 last year.All of those purchases have been fantastic.I am a lifelong GM fan so they never lost me but I can definitely say the quality is up.Unfortunately we live in a global economy now,where labor costs and bottom line still rule the day.If you live in a state or a country that has expensive unionized labor-you will eventually be out of a job.This is not right but if you make $45 per hour in the US or Canada making cars and the persons in Mexico and South Korea for example make $5-10 the brand follows the profitability.Richer countries have higher costs of living henceforth you need a good paying job,the poorer countries have less EPA type regulations and they generally don’t give a crap about their people so they get the companies flocking to them.In the US you can thank Reagan and NAFTA for the union shutdowns.After the majority of unions fell in the US as a result of the ATC strike in the 1980’s companies got their get out of jail free coupons and cashed them in.Unions held the jobs here was there wasn’t another option but evaporized when one presented itself.Amazon, Walmart and others would not have boomed in that structure because labor was too expensive.Even now the US still makes the best steel but we are the most expensive,thus China fills that gap with cheap steel and low quality.Trump’s buildings were built with Chinese steel and he has the gumption to tout American manufacturing.Wow.
I hope that means the ZL1 and C8.I could care less about electric cars,they won’t be reliable for a long time.Fire is still the major safety concern and the energy grid is still set up for gas powered cars.Only a small percentage of stations have electric hook-ups available.
ZL1 (camaro) will continue to be converted L to RHD by Walkinshaw in Australia, only the corvette will be built RHD, until further notice.
»Instead, GM will focus its strategies for the market on the GM specialty vehicle business.«
What does that mean?
Have you tried “Googling” the subject?
Lots of info on GM’s current SV program and how it’ll likely extend to these Regions / Markets.
…which means after-market or after assembly-line bespoke modifications, which are expensive.
I think that the Warren development center is gripped by a provincial outlook, and is not able to conceive developing a new car with the position of the driver being left or right is just a the flip of the mirror.
It means that they will be selling extremely niche products only, and at high prices.
General Electric is being run and has been for years solely for profit and nothing but profit. How are they doing? GM is eating itself to make a profit. At GM there is always talk of a great shiny future. That future never comes. They start down the dark tunnel towards the light, then boldy decide to turn off the light and stumble in the darkness till the next bold idea hits them… Moral of the story GM is NEVER coming out of the tunnel!
General Electric sold its home appliances division to Chinese company Haier in June 2016.
Heier has the right to use the GE brand name until 2056.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_Appliances
Haier considers itself as the world’s largest maker of home and kitchen appliances.
Sadly now GE taking steps for the chinese to make GE jet engines in china. The first step to selling that division off to china. GE will soon be a forgotten shell of a once great iconic company that sold its self off into oblivion because there bad management!
Holden will be missed
Man, the G8 is a real hoot to drive. Thanks you Australia.
Shame on you GM for neutering Holden. Should have given it the Alpha platform with a 3.0 TT V6 rather than a Blah FWD Buick :(.
GM is the most poorly managed car company, may be company of any kind, ever. They’ve just created a right-hand drive version of new Corvette, and spent billions of dollar and reorganized their platforms to accord with global market demands. Now, just after did that, they pull out of three of the biggest right-hand drive countries. They already pulled out of Europe, and never been Africa and Central and South Asia. They dwindling down year over year, become almost a local company.
So if this was your plan all along what in the world you dissipated most needed limited resources on a dead duck.
They clearly don’t know what they’re doing. The fist sign of this was pulling out of Europe, just a couple months after paying European soccer team Manchester United $559 frickin million dollar for Chevrolet jersey sponsorship!!!! and didn’t even try to cancel the deal, kept paying for it, in a continent they don’t sell anything under that brand.
Marry Barra is one of the worst CEOs ever, up there with Carly Fiorina, her only concern is looking good at next quarterly earning report with fictitious numbers, satisfy WallStreet Hedge Fon leechers also inflate her bonuses. Instead playing long game and trying to turn business around they are slashing, cutting, shutting down, lay-off; brands, factories, workers… anything seems bad at balance sheet. They don’t even try, their mindset going through the motions, zero enthusiasm, no working up to find means to an end.
GM brands’ names day by day are getting erased from people minds, even if current disgraceful regime go away and a new idealist hardworking people come it will be so much harder to reinstate the brand, because of they will be out of sight of all that time, and largely out of people’s mind.
This move by General Motors to finally retire its Holden brand is not for a second, ‘surprising’ and should have happen at least 20 years back. There is also a sound argument that the brand should not have been introduced in the first place, back late 1948!
Many Australians wrongly see this latest move as GM leaving Australia which of course is completely incorrect. GM is simply returning to the days (prior to 1948) when it sold Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC trucks in Australia.
At least 3 years ago I was writing on this forum about the need for GM to restructure itself around just three brands, those being Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC. For GMs survival in a 2020 world the Holden brand simply had to join other retired or sold off GM brands such as Pontiac, Oldsmobile, La Salle, Vauxhall, Opel and Bedford.
Many will disagree, but I look forward to the new Australian branch of GM and seeing its dealerships proudly display the internationally know Chevrolet and Cadillac emblems.
My garage contains an example of the final long wheel base WM “Holden” Caprice or is this car more correctly a Chevrolet Caprice which was badged a Holden for the Australian market?
So GM kept the holden alive from 1948 until 2021. Full marks to them for having done this, but in an Internet driven world today a local brand that serves just one country can not survive. As an Australian GM enthusiast I can clearly see this, and many other fellow Australians should also be able see the need for retiring the Holden brand.
It’s good news even though many at the present can not see this.
Yeah, people are gonna be lining up to buy an overpriced vehicle from the US, secure in the knowledge that if anything goes wrong with it they can simply return it to an abandoned car yard strewn with “final demand” notices….
A simple question is how do corporations like Toyota, Mercedes Benz Daimler and Volkswagen do it??? They build full lines of automobiles with many body styles and engines, small, medium, and big trucks as well as buses, industrial and agriculture equipment and appear to make money in global markets. Yet they are not shedding any business centers. Better management maybe?????
Daimler just cut 15 jobs and 3 Benz models on top of the 10k jobs in November.
Machete Mary hacking away continues. GM won’t be around in 50 years. Maybe less at this rate.
How many people really think that GM is run by only one person. Even if Mary Barra had the launch codes it would need to be a joint decision before using them.
The last real Holden was a great car,(think Chevy SS) and we will still get the great GM cars in RHD. Camaro and the new C8.
But not everyone wants a Holden or a Falcon. A lot of people have used the demise of car manufacturing of both Holden and Ford in Australia as an excuse to buy what they really want.
On the other hand there is no country in the world where the Government does not subsidise their car industry. It is an investment with great returns on many fronts. To just say we gave the industry $2 Billion and this is how you repay us is politicians trying to shift the blame.
GM had some excellent long-range plans for Australia but could not get the Australian government to listen. GM had spent many millions expecting some government recognition but none happened. This and other factors made it essentially imperative that GM gave up on Australia as a place GM could have a profitable business. Very sad for both GM and Australia, especially Australia. Once again, the Australian government kicks an own goal.
It’s all about the bottom line. No loyalty, no relationship, no marketing strategy, only thanks but no thanks.
If you disagree with GM shuttering Holden and many of their other “decisions” , stop buying their vehicles! When others ask you about what vehicle to get? Steer them away from GM and their very average at best, overpriced vehicles.
Eoc’s right in the observation that General Motors Holden manufacturing standards where excellent and this certainly shows in GM-H built Pontiac GTO, G8 and the Chevrolet SS, however, as much as GM’s Holden Division can take great pride in these cars, it’s important to remember the role played by the parent GM company in the USA.
Back in the late 1960s GM-H did develop its own ‘home grown’ V8 engine. Specifically a 253 cubic inch and a 308 cubic inch V8. As good as this engine was it did not progress as far as the Chevrolet V8 engines have and the vast majority of Holdens have been powered not by Holden V8s, but by V6 and V8 engines designed in the United States.
GM-H sold a long wheel base passenger car which GM-H sold in Australia as a high end luxury car. GM-H badged this car a Holden Caprice. The same car sold in China as Buick Park Avenue, in Germany as a Bitter and a ‘plain Jane’ version in the USA as a Chevrolet Caprice police car. Only a small percentage were sold badged as Holdens. Most were exported as Chevrolets or Buicks. Accordingly its not unreasonable to question which badge describes this model. Certainly Australia would not have been offered this long wheel base sedan had it not been for the export market.
The point I am trying to make, is that the US parent GM company played a big part in many of the successful Holden designs. In fact the very first 1948 48/215 ‘FX’ Holden was largely an American GM design.
Okay…we all understand the economic rationalism which arrived at the decision but, for the sake of the American readers here let me tell you a bit of history that GM US may not. Holden was a successful motor body builder at the beginning of the 20th Century and they were profitable on their own. GM came along in 1930, saw they could make a buck in the country by owning Holden and bought the company (our mistake…this should never have happened but, sadly, Aussie CEOs always dream about dollars so many of our manufacturers have ended up in foreign hands). Along comes WWII. Holden factories helped a great deal in the war effort and following the war our government decided we should have our “own car”, developed and manufactured locally.
Local engineering outfits bid for the government subsidy to start a car company and GM also entered the fray bidding to build an “Australian car” from the ground up. Now because our nation felt we had a special debt to the US for helping us in WWII and because GM had a good manufacturing reputation, the company was awarded the right to make an Aussie car and given 90 MILLION Australian pounds (not repayable) to start the factories up. In today’s money in AUD that would be $5,632,489,249.88 !!! Every year after that the company received special supplementation to help it grow…Aussie taxpayer money! That money continued to flow right up until, I believe, 2014 (the exact date escapes me). With the last tranche of money GM assured the Australian government that they would develop a new Australian model (or probably engineer a new Commodore most likely) but that never happened. The money went straight back to the US.
So can you Americans now understand why Aussies are more than a bit p’d off? GMH made GM a bucket of money and, and during the GFC it was one of the company’s most profitable divisions. Now, leaving aside the argument about whether or not we should have had a locally-owned car company, GM US did not listen to the their Holden Australia staff who warned them that sticking with a one model strategy and banking everything on the Commodore was a bad idea. There were designs and prototypes for a new line of SUVs on the ZETA platform that GM US decided not to proceed with and, really, this might have saved the company. So, my US cousins, we are not only sad about Holden being killed off we are downright angry at GM US. I own a late model Commodore. I love my car and I look at the proud Holden Lion badge…the proud lion with its paw resting on the “rolling ball of progress” and it hurts me to the core. I will NEVER but a GM product again.
When Holden factory was going to close there were a couple serious attempts to purchase and keep it running but GM seemed to want to euthanize it. Maybe it was scared to compete with a former product that was a decade old but still felt fresh. Just sad to have a business with nearly 165 years of history being erased. I still have a bit of a feeling it’s a sales gimmick to get the name changed to GM or Chev or GMC etc, like ripping a band aid off quickly. Apparently the Corvette and some trucks are going to continue….
GM is the most poorly managed car company, may be company of any kind, ever. They’ve just created a right-hand drive version of new Corvette, and spent billions of dollar and reorganized their platforms to accord with global market demands. Now, just after did that, they pull out of three of the biggest right-hand drive countries. They already pulled out of Europe, and never been Africa and Central and South Asia. They dwindling down year over year, become almost a local company.
So if this was your plan all along what in the world you dissipated most needed limited resources on a dead duck.
They clearly don’t know what they’re doing. The fist sign of this was pulling out of Europe, just a couple months after paying European soccer team Manchester United $559 frickin million dollar for Chevrolet jersey sponsorship!!!! and didn’t even try to cancel the deal, kept paying for it, in a continent they don’t sell anything under that brand.
Marry Barra is one of the worst CEOs ever, up there with Carly Fiorina, her only concern is looking good at next quarterly earning report with fictitious numbers, satisfy WallStreet Hedge Fon leechers also inflate her bonuses. Instead playing long game and trying to turn business around they are slashing, cutting, shutting down, lay-off; brands, factories, workers… anything seems bad at balance sheet. They don’t even try, their mindset going through the motions, zero enthusiasm, no working up to find means to an end.
GM brands’ names day by day are getting erased from people minds, even if current disgraceful regime go away and a new idealist hardworking people come it will be so much harder to reinstate the brand, because of they will be out of sight of all that time, and largely out of people’s mind.
General Motors continual worldwide downsizing is in reality nothing new. General Motors used to be a major company and at one point in addition to cars manufactured aircraft engines and also a full range of household white goods such as refrigerators, washing machines and more.
While most major automotive manufactures have no difficulty in producing both LHD and RHD versions of the cars they make. General Motors appears to see this as a real barrier? Incredible to think that during the 1950s and 1960s GMs Tarrytown plant produced thousands of ‘factory RHD’ Chevrolet Impalas that GM’s Chevrolet Division then exported all over the world to various RHD markets.
But of course, the United States during the 1950s and 1960s was at that time the most powerful country in the world. By contrast, in 2020 United States today faces record levels of homeless Americans, an unpredictable President and is fast sadly loosing its position as ‘the most powerful country in the world’. I say ‘sadly’ as with power comes responsibility and the USA for most part, over the past 100 years has handled its former ‘power’ responsibility.
Perhaps the fact that GM is falling apart and get smaller as a company, simply reflects whats happening to the United States generally. Time will answer that one, but it certainly appears to be the case.
There is a strong argument that Australia and other RHD countries should become LHD and I would support such a change. I am certain that Americans would think that the world should be totally LHD and that makes sense, but equally the United States needs to become METRIC like the rest of the world.
Its simply unacceptable that in 2020 the USA still uses outdated Imperial (American?) measurement such as Miles Per Hour , Feet, Inches and Pounds for weight measure.
I have been a life long supporter of all things associated with General Motors, agree totally that GMs ‘Holden’ brand had to be retired but don’t expect that this is the end of GM in Australia at all. In fact it might be be the beginning of the real return of Cadillac and Chevrolet brands down under.
Certainly Buick has to be the next brand on the chopping block.
Everybody bashes the US until the next Saddam Hussein comes along and begs the US to help them.
GM could easily make RHD vehicles, but if they think they can be a leader in electric vehicles it’s going to take all that they have. Unlike Tesla, GM can not run in the red making vehicles. So what do they do, they get rid of less/unprofitable vehicles to make run for a less profitable business (EVs). But EVs are at least a growth area whereas RHD vehicles were stuck in the mud.
What does have the position of the steering wheel have to do with the engine being Internal Combustion or electric?
Why should the one exlude the other?
On the contrary, methinks, powering propulstion by an electric motor instead of an ICE makes constructing cars for both LHD and RHD production much easier.
All you armchair experts talking about shoulda, woulda, coulda.. It’s gone mate, there’s nothing left to discuss. GM Authority.. Please shutdown this page.
This is GM making a difficult but necessary decision.
This will get the armchair CEOs all riled up, but its the right call. There hasn’t been any vehicle manufacturing in Australia since 2017, and it was on the decline for years before that. GM came in and “rescued” Holden a long time ago, but it was never guaranteed they would float them forever. If Australians can’t or don’t want to manufacture their own vehicles, they have to import them from somewhere. If GM feels that the market there is not large enough to justify the cost, it makes sense to get out.
The bottom line is that if Australia was right-hand drive, there would be no problem. The entire world is left hand drive except for british colonial nations, there are plenty of manufacturers that specialize in RHD and Australia can get their vehicles from those manufacturers.
It is perfectly reasonable for GM to be a left hand drive company.
100% correct Brian.
oops, meant to say
“The bottom line is that if Australia was LEFT-hand drive, there would be no problem. “
»The entire world is left hand drive except for british colonial nations,«
not correct. Japan has never been a British colony, neither has Thailand, Indonesia was not a British, but Netherland’s colony and Mozambique a Portuguese colony. OTOH, former British colonies in West Africa drive on the right (Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia). Then there is the strange case of Myanmar, the former British colony Birma, which kept driving on the left side of the road after gaining independence; but in late 1970, the then ruler of Myanmar issued a decree that from December 6, 1970, all cars have to drive on the right hand side, which was followed. But still most cars have their driving wheel on the right, large part because a very large part of the automobiles are imported as used cars from neighboring countries.
»there are plenty of manufacturers that specialize in RHD and Australia can get their vehicles from those manufacturers.«
I don’t know of any manufacturer which “specializes in RHD”. I only know of automobile manufacturers who conceive of an automobile to have its steering wheel either on the left or right and let RHD and LHD cars run off the same assembly line without any problem.
»
It is perfectly reasonable for GM to be a left hand drive company.
«
This is a very peculiar position in today’s world.
This is like designing electrical appliances only for 50 Hertz or 60 Hertz.
Or to put it more drastically:
conceiving cars for exclusively RHD or LHD is like building computers and mobile phones which get their electrical current exclusively from either only 110 Volt @60 Hz or only 240 Volt @ 50 Hz. Any manufacturer who is trying this will go under.
all fair points, except that the majority of roads in the world are right handed so that puts an impetus on manufacturers to prefer one or the other. It costs more to make both, so it makes sense that companies would specialize in one or the other.
Why should a manufacturer make a preference?
Why do you think that is more expensive to produce the same car with LHD and RHD. Why should anybody specialize only in one?
This gut wrenching and disgusting action flies in the face of everything both Reuss and Barra have said in the past. This decision has been coming for years, with mismanagement at both GM and Holden having left us with product that plays catchup before it is released. Apart from the last locally produced Holden Commodore, not one European based vehicle has done well, and the Thai built product is always behind more modern and better built opposition. Holden has abandoned its people and GM has put dollars before proud and loyal supporters once again. Not many brands older than Holden. If it was an animal, you would have been arrested for letting it die so slowly and deliberately. Do NOT believe that this occurred because of any global issue, or changes in vehicle ownership, type or value. Other car makers are still supplying Australia and see it as a valuable market. Other car makers have been able to build platforms that cater for both left and right hand markets, Australia could and did for many years. If there was any vision or smarts at GM (sorry) then Australia would be the right hand drive arm of GM. As for me, I will not be looking for any new GM product, with apologies to those companies doing a marvellous job of converting them. I couldn’t justify the 160k price tag for a Camaro, and expect Corvette is off the plate now too. At 200k plus anyway…………. So goodbye to you guys too. No reason to be reading these pages anymore either. I hope GM now at least lets us bury our dead in peace, build our museums and look after the thousands of people they have just shafted. Have a good day!
There is ‘not surprisingly’ a lot of emotion being expressed in the various responses to GM retiring its Holden brand. The Australian media are for the most part, are reporting this news in much the same way that they did in 2017 when the last Australian assembled Holden rolled off the South Australian assembly line, but of course they are wrong.
It’s simply NOT correct to suggest that GM is leaving Australia totally. As I read it, GM will remain in Australia under the new global title of ‘General Motors – Special Vehicles’. GMSV will in all likelihood offer Australians a range of Chevrolet and even perhaps Cadillac vehicles. The ONLY difference will be that these vehicles will no longer wear a ‘Holden’ badge.
But there is nothing new about this concept. GM-H has a long history of retiring brand names of the passenger cars it sold in Australia. Consider the following facts.
Before they Second World War, GM-H in Australia imported and assembled Cadillac, La Salle, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Chevrolet and Vauxhall. Following the Second World War GM-H commenced reducing the brands it sold as follows:
1945
GM-H retired its Cadillac brand.
1952
GM-H retired its Buick brand.
1953
GM-H retired its Oldsmobile brand.
1966
GM-H retired its Vauxhall brand.
1969
GM-H retired its Chevrolet brand.
1969
GM-H retired its Pontiac brand.
2020
GM-H will retire its Holden brand.
It must be remembered that prior to 1970, GM-H offered a extensive range of brands consisting of Pontiac, Chevrolet, Vauxhall and Holden passenger vehicles. Holden was just one of the brands assembled by GM-H and has only been a GM ‘brand’ since 1948 and in comparison to GMs other brands has a very recent and very short history.
The new Australian company “General Motors Special Vehicles” is likely to offer Australians a wide range of interesting and popular models. Already, (thanks to HSV) Australians have the Chevrolet Camaro and during 2020 we see the Chevrolet Corvette in RHD form.
I am certain that these Chevrolet models will eventually be joined by an SUV of some description with a Chevrolet badge and a Cadillac for the Australian premium market.
I have said on this forum many times, that GM needs to seriously reduce the brand names it supports. The next step should be to sell the Buick brand to the Chinese, then focus on selling the Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC brands globally. In time Australians will learn to embrace the Chevrolet brand and support it at the annual Bathurst Car Race! A generation will grow up supporting the Chevrolet brand.
Above all, don’t forget that General Motors (GM) is the company, Holden was just one of the brands sold by GM. Its not the other way around!
Carl, thank you for explaining what is really changing. I just went by MSM stories when I wrote my above comment yesterday. From your facts I now think GM’s future in Australia should be bright, in fact, very bright.
Thank you, Holden!
You will be missed, not forgotten.
Love my VE Commodore!
On one third of this planet’s land surface with one third of all human beings, cars drive on the left side of the road, but GM, once world’s largest automaker, is withdrawing from all those markets. Building cars withe the steering wheel on the right side of the car is too expensive and not worth the cost.
This is a really strange idea.
I can’t imagine that any other automaker does not start with conceiving at the very beginning of developing a new car and even more when developing a new (modular) platform for a whole family of cars that these cars may have the steering wheel on the left or the right side of the vehicle.
In the near two decades that I follow GM, I was worried that GM’s largest development center seemed to be blind to this, while all other GM development centers in Korea or Germany followed the standard that each new cars should run from one assembly line in a mix of left steering and right steering versions.
Today it appears to me that Warren is simply incapable of thinking out of the box and imaging that any place on the world could different from Michigan or be even no longer in Kansas.
And that these famous VSS or vehicle sets, the GM equivalent to VW’s modular building blocks, have been conceived for left hand driving only. How foolish!
Now I heard that the new Corvette has been conceived with a right side steering option. I still have to see it. And the leader of the development considers this as a risk!
Do people remember the 500 million USD advertisement contract with english football club Manchester United for Chevrolet? They could not get the players to drive the RHD Chevrolets made in Korea — those very high paid people wanted things like a Corvette or at least a Camaro or a Cadillac, but none of those are easy to drive on english roads since these cars are available with left hand steering only.
BTW, Opel is returning to Japan now after having been pulled out in 2006.
I am truly sad to see Holden leave. Holden made some great cars such as the Commodore, the Monaro or both otherwise known as the Chevy Lumina or Vauxhall VXR8. Granted Opel may have not been the best partnership, but Holden & Vauxhall weren’t too bad. With the Camaro riding off into the sunset within the next few years, hopefully GM has something up its sleeves for another entry in the performance car market.