The highlights of Holden’s rich history
With the closure of the Holden car manufacturing plant on October 20th 2017, we said a sad farewell to car manufacturing in Australia. The early history of Holden in Australia dates to 1856 when it operated in Adelaide as a saddlery business and was owned by James Alexander Holden. So if you are a Holden enthusiast - let’s take a look at some of the highlights in Holden’s history.
Early years up to the 1940s
Just before the first World War in 1917, Holden moved into car upholstery repairs and by the end of the war, they had ventured into manufacturing car bodies. This move was so successful that Melbourne’s tramcars were supplied by Holden and they became the sole supplier of car bodies to General Motors (GM) Australia in 1924. In 1931 Holden Motor Body Builders were bought out by GM, becoming known as GM-H (General Motors-Holden Limited).
During the second World War, Holden branched out into manufacturing weapons, aircrafts and engines for the war effort, reverting back to their core production line at the end of the war. Holden actually manufactured car bodies for Chevrolet, Buick and Vauxhall during the 1940s and in 1948 produced the first all-Australian made car – the Holden 48-215, known as the FX. Designed for the Australian environment, the FX was economical and was a huge success, costing just $733 or around $22K in today’s money.
1950s to 1980s
In 1951, Holden produced their 20-2106 utility vehicle and became a best seller, particularly in rural communities. This was followed up in 1953 by the iconic FJ Holden, available in a sedan, panel van or Ute model. In 1956, the FE Holden was launched with a station sedan body and by the end of the 50s, Holden had 40% of all car sales in Australia and was exporting worldwide.
The 1960s brought a new model, inspired by the Chevrolets, the well-known FB, which also came in left hand drive. Next, we had the EJ, EH and HD models with the HR series being the first cars to be fitted with seat belts in Australia. The Torana went into production in 1967 (discontinued in ’79) and the V8 was fitted to the HT series. Holden had now sold more than one million cars, which they doubled again in the 60s and opened another seven manufacturing plants across Australia.
In the 1970s, we saw the launch of the HQ, HJ, HX and HZ series, the Gemini in 1975 and the Commodore V8 in ’78 – the most popular car they ever produced. In the 1980s Ford overtook Holden with their Falcon series, but Holden bit back with the release of the VK, VL and VN Commodores and the Barina, Rodeo, Jackaroo and Astra. As the 1980s closed, Holden had once again beaten Ford for the number one spot in Australia.
1990s to today
In the ‘90s Holden continued to increase its share of the market with a new Statesman, VR and VT Commodore, adding the Vectra to its line-up. Unfortunately, the last Australian CEO of Holden left in 1990 and a year later, Toyota took over the number one spot in Australia, beating out both Holden and Ford, a place it still holds today.
During the early 2000s, the Monaro Coupe was reinvented and the VY, VZ and VE Commodores were introduced, as well as the Captiva SUV. In 2008 the Rodeo was given a facelift and relaunched as the Colorado and a year later the Holden Cruz was launched. The VF Commodore was updated in 2015 and this series became the last and final Holden vehicle made in Australia in October 2017.
Holden is now described on its website as an automobile importer and a former automobile manufacturer.
Tony White Group have over 40 dealerships across Australia’s Eastern states. For all your car needs, including new and used cars, as well as servicing, contact us via our online enquiry form or locate a Tony White Dealership close to you.
Image: www.richardlweis.org