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Last goodbye for 160-year-old Holden brand

Australia’s costly love affair with homegrown cars has finally crashed into reality.

Holden enthusiast Gary McKay with his 1973 Torana. Picture: David Geraghty
Holden enthusiast Gary McKay with his 1973 Torana. Picture: David Geraghty

Australia’s costly love affair with homegrown cars finally crashed into reality yesterday with the ­decision to kill off the 160-year-old Holden brand.

After decades of carmaking — and billions of dollars in subsidies that failed to stave off factory closure two years ago — parent company General Motors said the numbers didn’t add up for Australia’s only local car badge. Most of its operations would be wound up by June.

The company’s 800 staff and almost 200 dealers were told yesterday morning, and unions, dealers and both sides of politics reacted furiously.

Scott Morrison, who was told of the decision just before the ­announcement, said Australians would blame GM.

“I am disappointed but not surprised,” the Prime Minister said. “But I am angry, like I think many Australians would be. Australian taxpayers put billions into this multinational company.

“They let the brand just wither away on their watch. Now they are leaving it behind.”

Under Canberra’s assistance schemes to the car industry, Holden received at least $2.2bn in taxpayer subsidies and repeatedly threatened to quit manufacturing if money was withdrawn.

After closing its factory in 2017, GM retained some design and ­engineering capacity in Victoria, attracting more government ­support until the end.

Anthony Albanese said Holden was more than “just a car” and the decision “dates back to 2013 when the Liberals dared Holden to leave”. “For many Australians, Holden is part of their family story,” the Opposition Leader said.

Holden has been part of the cultural landscape since it began making “Australia’s own car” in 1948.

The company was founded as a saddle maker in South Australia in 1856 before it started building vehicles in 1908.

For a couple of decades from the mid-1950s a Holden was the choice of almost every second buyer. In 1963 the EH Holden became the fastest-selling Australian car of all time, with 250,000 snapped up in 18 months.

Its long-time rivalry with Ford comes to a head every year at the fiercely contested Bathurst 1000 race, with huge bragging rights for the winner.

Holden’s debut win came in 1968 in a Monaro GTS and by the end of the decade it employed 26,000 staff at 10 locations and had 600 dealerships. Melbourne mechanic Gary McKay has been a “one-eyed Holden supporter” since he was a child. “Like every kid back then, you followed the brand of car your dad had,” the 57-year-old said.

Having worked on “just about every model” Holden built “from 1948 to now”, Mr McKay said the announcement was “very sad”.

Mr McKay owns four Holdens: a VN Group A Commodore, a VE Clubsport Commodore and two Toranas, including his favourite and first car, a 1973 LJ Torana XU1 he’s owned since he bought it for $2500 at the age of 18. The same model is being advertised for as much as $160,000 today.

“I’m an old-school guy. I love old Toranas,” Mr McKay said. “Commodores are also a big favourite.”

As a mechanic in the outer eastern suburb of Bayswater, Mr McKay said he was not entirely surprised that there had been a decline in business for Holden.

“The last 10-15 years it’s more Mercedes, Renaults, Jags, BMWs that I’m servicing,” he said.

For Dale Snowden, from Newcastle, NSW, the dumping of the brand is devastating.

“It’s sad that it had to end like this. I didn’t expect it with Holden coming out with their latest model in 2019,” the 54-year-old said.

His love of Holdens started with his first car, a gun­metal grey 1963 EJ with a white roof. Now he spends his weekends restoring Holdens to their former glory and taking them for a drive. “They watch you coming up the road and stop, look and wave,” he said. “There’s a lot of fans out there.”

‘I was battling to hold back tears’ over Holden's demise: Mark Skaife

After seven decades of local manufacturing, Holden shuttered its Adelaide plant in 2017 and replaced the homegrown Commodore with an imported and rebadged Opel. Sales have been cut in half since and the brand finished last year at an all-time low, with just 4 per cent market share.

“This is a tough day for the Holden family,” said Holden chairman Kristian Aquilina. who acknowledged the work of staff in trying to turn fortunes around.

Hundreds of jobs to go following Holden axing

He said there was a lot of passion within GM for Holden — with many senior executives having worked in Australia — but analysis over many months had failed to find a solution.

GM international operations vice-president Julian Blissett said the move was part of a restructuring of global operations that included selling off its factory in Thailand. Holden said it was working on compensation packages for staff who will lose their jobs and for dealers, who as recently as last week were working with Holden on long-term revival plan.

The ACTU sheeted blame to the closure decision, in 2013 when Tony Abbott was prime minister, and accused the government of failing to protect jobs. “The Prime Minister likes to talk about creating local jobs … but he’s missing in action when it comes time to ensure that local workers have secure jobs they can count on,” said ACTU secretary Sally McManus.

She was supported by opposition industry spokesman Brendan O’Connor, who said successive Coalition governments had “goaded Australia’s car manufacturers to leave our shores”.

On Sky News, Mr Abbott defended the move, saying “it wasn’t the job of the Australian government to run down the street waving a cheque book at foreign car producers” and he would make the same decision again.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: IMOGEN REID

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/last-goodbye-for-160yearold-holden-as-general-motors-kills-off-brand/news-story/f248252d121970f81f05652ead715a29