Holden axed: GM retires Aussie brand

UPDATED: Vale Holden. Former Australian car manufacturer Holden will be killed off this year, as the company's sales decline continues to worsen.

Up to 800 jobs are expected to go as Holden's parent company, General Motors, announced the news it would 'retire' the brand and close all of its local engineering and design operations to dealers, employees and the press today.

Holden's Lang Lang proving ground will be shut with Holden saying all global engineering calibration programs will be handed over to overseas operations by August 2020. Meanwhile the local design studio will be shuttered by June 2020.

The cost of the closure, in conjunction with changes to GM's Thai footprint, is expected to cost more than $US1b ($A1.45b).

Having built cars in Australia since 1948, Holden stopped manufacturing cars locally in late 2017.

The brand has since struggled to maintain its market position. In the past two years Holden has been hemorrhaging sales as customers have deserted the brand.

The announcement from GM coincides with plans to wind down sales of right-hand drive vehicles globally.

General Motors issued a press release today headlined "GM Accelerates Transformation of International Markets."

"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 prioritising 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."

Former Holden boss and now GM President Mark Reuss said the investment required to keep Holden afloat – indeed all right-hand-drive markets, was too much of a challenge.

"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 prioritise 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.

Reuss' reference to Holden's partner is good news for HSV. It seems set to continue to sell converted Chevrolet vehicles Down Under going forward. These currently include the Camaro coupe and Silverado pick-up truck.

In Holden's press conference minutes ago, local boss Kristian Aquilina conceded any specialty vehicle presence moving forward would likley be "a very minimal one".

More news soon...