Richard Blackburn: Being an Australian icon wasn’t enough to save Holden

Despite being owned by American giant General Motors, Holden’s biggest strength was that it was as Aussie as a meat pie. In the end, that’s what also caused its demise, writes Richard Blackburn.

In the end, Holden’s biggest strength became its Achilles’ heel.

The brand had traded on its Australian identity since it began building cars, despite the fact that it was owned by American giant General Motors. To hide its American roots, it simply changed the marketing slogan from baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet to football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars.

From the FJ to the Kingswood and Commodore, Holden was the local hero on roads and racetracks. Buyers did their patriotic duty by choosing a Holden — even if it was a Barina built in Korea.

Holden was as Aussie as a meat pie. Darryn Wishart with his modified Holden Torana. Picture: Peter Ristevski

Despite the fact that the Australian car manufacturing industry couldn’t compete on equal terms with the powerhouses of Korea and Japan, successive governments poured in billions to keep it afloat, acknowledging the political sensitivity of putting a bullet in a cultural icon.

Even after 2013, when Holden announced it would end manufacturing in Australia, people still bought the homegrown Commodore.

RELATED: Why Holden had to dump Commodore

But when the local factory closed in 2017, the love affair with the Australian public ended abruptly.

Buyers shunned the imported Commodore and dealers were edgy. Holden had always stood for homegrown but what did it stand for now?

The decline was spectacular. In 2017, Holden sold roughly 90,000 cars. Last year, it was just 43,000.

Jeff Darmanin pictured in front of his FJ Holden ute. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The writing was on the wall long before 2017, though. Holden’s sales slide started 15 years ago, as Australians began to embrace smaller cars and then SUVs, shunning the sedans that had been the default choice for decades.

As Holden and arch rival Ford were obsessed with the Commodore versus Falcon sales battle, Toyota courted buyers with an alternative: the SUV.

Here’s an ad we’ll never see again.

Holdens will ceast to exist by the end of 2020 – a decision that dates back to 2013 when the Liberals dared Holden to leave.

This is about more than just a car.

For many Australians, Holden is part of their family story.

The end of an era. pic.twitter.com/ZRrwbLSjRo

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) February 17, 2020

Armed with a fleet of these wagons, from the tough, go-anywhere LandCruiser to the city-friendly RAV4, the Japanese juggernaut overtook Holden in 2003 and hasn’t looked back. It now dominates the local market, accounting for one in five new car sales.

Holden’s dwindling sales meant head office simply couldn’t justify designing and engineering right-hand drive vehicles for such a small market. In a globalised car industry, being Australian is no longer enough.

Richard Blackburn is News Corp Australia News360’s national motoring editor.