The epic rise & tragic fall of Holden

2021 sees the end of Holden. We take a look back at the history of the famous Australian car maker

Autocar

10 January 2021

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The end is nigh for Holden.

The General Motors-owned company gave Australia its first home-grown car in 1948. But domestic production ended in 2017, and in February 2020 GM announced that the brand itself – now relying on rebadged imports - will be axed in 2021. GM executive Julian Blissett said that the investment needed to become competitive outweighed the likely return. The company promises a ‘dignified wind-down.’

It will mark a sad end for the 156-year-old company. Here, then, is the history of the company in pictures, with its greatest cars highlighted:
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BEGINNINGS

Holden was originally founded in 1856 as a saddle manufacturer but branched into the car industry as founder James Holden’s grandson Edward joined the firm. By the 1920s Holden Motor Body Builders (HMBB) was supplying 12,000 bodies a year to Ford and GM. But the Great Depression saw the market collapse, and in 1931, HMBB was bought by GM.

After the war, Australia got its first car, thanks to Holden and HM. It might have been originally conceived as a Chevrolet for the American market – and rejected on the basis it was too small – but Holden made the 48-215 its own.
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48-215

It wasn’t a knocked-down kit: Holden established its own foundry and forge, and the range grew to include sedan, business sedan and panel van models. In its pickup guise, it coined the ‘ute’ tag. The 48-215 was marketed simply as ‘Holden’, and more than 120,000 were sold in five years. Holden is also credited with coining the Australian term for pickup, 'Ute', short for Utility.
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FJ

Holden’s second model, the FJ, launched in 1953. It was essentially a facelift of the 48-215, featuring bolder styling and its 2.2-litre straight-six saw power boosted from 60 to 65bhp. Almost 170,000 were sold in three years, and it remains one of Australia’s most iconic models and in 2005, inspired the Efijy, a Corvette-based concept, which was the first picture in this story.
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FE to EK

The launch of the FE in 1956, and a revised version called the FC two years later, spearheaded Holden’s growth overseas. But despite sales in Southeast Asia and large parts of Africa, the firm’s focus was on its domestic market where it enjoyed a 50% market share.

In 1960 was the launch of its third all-new model, the FB, just months ahead of the unveiling of the Ford Falcon. Against the Ford, the Holden looked dated, even if it was considered to be the superior car. In 1962 Holden responded with the launch of the EK (pictured), starting a programme of almost annual revisions lasting until 1968.
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EH

1963's Ute was based on the new EH model, and featured 2.4- and 2.9-litre engines mated to three-speed transmissions.
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TORANA

During the manufacturer of the FB-based models, Holden began assembling Vauxhall Vivas, proving demand was there for its own mid-sized saloon, the Torana. In later incarnations, it captured the car buyers' attention in various saloon car championships, and in 1974 it received a 5.0-litre V8 – all in a package only 350mm longer than a contemporary Viva.
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HK

In 1968 Holden ended production of Chevrolets and Pontiacs, and announced its next new model: the HK. It introduced a number of new names for its variants, including Monaro – a name given to its sporting muscle cars. Holden’s sales were on the up. In 1969 the firm built its two millionth car, an upscale HK Brougham, just 10 years after producing its ten millionth car.

A later incarnation of the HK, the HT, was the recipient of the first Australian designed mass-produced V8.
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HQ

By the launch of the HQ in the early 1970s, Holden was designing and producing all of its cars domestically, although by the end of the decade some models were designed overseas. The HQ was an instant success, selling 485,600 in three years.

It also spawned a Mazda-badged model, the Roadpacer AP, which featured a rotary engine. Sales were slow due to a huge price tag, considerable thirst and poor performance, but it remains the only production GM model to be fitted with a rotary engine.
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HURRICANE CONCEPT

1969's Hurricane concept showcased many new technologies including a crude navigation system operated by magnetic strips in the road.
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TORANA CONCEPT

Another intriguing concept, the Torana GTR-X of 1970 came close to production, but bosses were unable to determine a large enough market.
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COMMODORE

In 1975 the Vauxhall Kadett-based Gemini was launched, and in 1978 the Commodore was introduced. It was loosely based on the Vauxhall Carlton, but after initial sales success, started to fall behind the larger and more spacious Ford Falcon.

The 1980s saw Holden take a range of models from Isuzu in order to shore up its presence in a challenging domestic market. The situation worsened with the launch of superior products from Ford and the rise of Japanese manufacturers in the market. Much was made of the launch of the latest Commodore, the VK, but it was little more than a restyling exercise. The adoption of a Nissan engine was controversial, but necessary due to the complexity in converting Holden’s own six-cylinder to run on unleaded fuel – now a legal requirement.
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PETER BROCK

Famed Australian racer Peter Brock (1945-2006) was synonymous with racing Holdens for nearly 40 years – here he is driving a Commodore in 1984.
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RACING & SELLING

Holden used Brock to market the four-door Monaro GTS, which used a 5.7-litre V8. Holden very much embraced the “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” ethos behind saloon car racing.
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RACERS

Holden, alongside Ford, were the stalwarts of the Australian Touring Car and V8 Supercar championships.
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SPLIT

The WB of 1980 saw a split between Holden's passenger car and commercial vehicle ranges.
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COMMODORE SS GROUP A

The Holden Commodore SS Group A used a 4.9-litre V8 and was built to homologate for touring car racing.
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PRESSURES

The increasing cost of the powertrain due to unfavourable exchange rates compounded Holden’s financial woes and triggered a restructure and a separation of its car and engine businesses. The next decade saw more models imported to supplement the brand’s range.

Throughout the 1990s, Holden’s own model range centred on the Commodore which received various revisions. The VT Commodore (pictured) of 1997 was a huge success, becoming the biggest-selling Commodore to date and reaping the rewards of buyers' dislike of the latest Ford Falcon’s styling. The Commodore was related to the Opel/Vauxhall Omega, and marked the return of the Monaro nameplate – a model which was officially imported to the UK by Vauxhall.
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COMMODORE RANGE

The Commodore range spawned estate and ute models as well as the saloon.
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HSV GTS 300i

The HSV GTS 300i of 2000 featured a 400bhp 5.7-litre V8. Just 117 were made.
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MONARO

The Monaro is one of Holden's most revered nameplates. This third-gen model returned in 2001 after a 24 year hiatus.
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MONARO UTE

Hot versions of the ute, called Maloo, were particularly tail-happy with a big V8 up front and little weight over the rear wheels.
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UK

Holdens even made it to the UK, where they were sold as Vauxhalls – like this VXR8, a hot V8-powered Commodore.
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IMPORTS

The mid-1990s marked an end to an agreement with Toyota to sell rebadged models, and European Corsa, Astra (pictured), and Vectra models were initially assembled locally, but later they were simply imported.
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CRUZE

The original Holden Cruze was a rebadged Suzuki Ignis, but later models were based on more familiar Chevrolets.
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JACK8

The Holden Jack8 was a high-powered concept based on the Jackaroo - an Australian-market Isuzu Trooper.
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SUNSET

The following decade saw Holden overtaken by Toyota as Australia’s number one car maker. Losses continued to mount, and in 2009 GM sought Chapter 11 reorganisation which saw Holden’s significant stake in Daewoo relinquished. Nevertheless, a large number of rebadged Daewoos were sold as Holdens.
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THE END

With a small number of locally built models – none of which were small and mediums sized SUVs which the market was demanding more of - and a resultant declining market share, the writing was on the wall for Holden. Workers agreed to pay cuts and future pay freezes, and bosses were understood to be in funding negotiations with the government.

But the economics for car making in Australia were becoming daunting: enormous Chinese-led demand for Australian natural resources like iron ore in the 2000s made the Aussie dollar very strong, making imported rival cars very cheap. GM announced the end of Australian production in 2013, and its factory closed in 2017; its final model was the Commodore. Ford and Toyota also followed suit, though GM went on selling imported models badged as Holdens – mostly Opels.

It was the beginning of the end, and in February 2020 GM announced the end of the brand by the end of 2021, with the loss of around 600 jobs. It will be a sad end to a great Australian company.

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