Holden's manufacturing closure by the numbers

The lights have officially been turned off at Holden’s Adelaide production facility.

At noon today South Australian time, a manual Commodore SS-V Redline sedan drove off the production line, completing 69 years of Holden car manufacturing in Australia.

It also marks the end of automotive mass-production in Australia, following Toyota’s Altona factory closure earlier this month and the end of Ford production in Broadmeadows and Geelong last October.

Like Toyota and Ford, Holden will move to a 100 per cent import and sales model from this point forward, with the promise of 24 new models between 2015 and 2020 – including “a true V8, rear-drive sports car” in the Camaro coupe.

The numbers of Holden’s manufacturing tenure leave an indelible legacy. From its beginnings as a saddle maker in 1856, Holden joined forces with General Motors before delivering Australia’s own car from its Fishermens Bend production line on November 29, 1948.

All in all, Holden built almost 7.7 million (7,687,675) vehicles in Australia, from the very first 48-215 to the final SS-V Redline on October 20.

During that time, peak production occurred in 2005 with the VZ Commodore (153,026 units), a year which also coincided with peak exports of 60,518 to 10 countries including the Middle East and US.

Holden’s highest market share materialised in 1958, when one in every two Aussie buyers opted for the Holden badge (50.8 per cent). This figure stayed strong through to the 1990s; Holden’s market share now hovers at seven per cent.

Holden’s manufacturing footprint was once much larger than the lone facility at Elizabeth, in the northern suburbs of Adelaide. When employee numbers peaked at 23,914 in 1964, Holden boasted seven facilities across Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

Elizabeth has been Holden’s sole car manufacturing base in Australia since 1994.

The final 950 manufacturing workers will clock off for a final time today. Holden will retain approximately 350 design and engineering staff beyond 2017, along with thousands of dealership and support staff.

Holden’s managing director, Mark Bernhard, revealed that 84 per cent of Holden workers “transitioned successfully” under the firm’s transition program.

Holden hasn’t nominated how many of those jobs are full-time, and how many have ‘transitioned’ into retirement. Holden will continue to operate a transition centre out of the Elizabeth site for a further two years.

Although Ford beat it to car manufacturing in Australia (in 1925), Holden says it is the second oldest transportation company globally, starting as a saddlery business in Adelaide in 1856.

Holden manufacturing by the numbers:
Total number of vehicles built in Australia (including export models): 1948-2017: 7,687,675
First car: 48-215 built on November 29, 1948, at Fishermens Bend, Melbourne
Final car: Commodore VFII Redline (manual) on October 20, 2017, at Elizabeth, Adelaide
Final four cars built at Elizabeth to be kept as part of Holden’s ongoing heritage collection:
- Caprice V V8 automatic (Switchblade) – Final Caprice = 7,687,672
- Calais V V6 automatic (Son of a Gun) – Final Commodore Wagon = 7,687,673
- SS Ute V8 automatic (Light My Fire) – Final Commodore Ute = 7,687,674
- SSV Redline V8 manual (Red Hot) – Final Commodore Sedan = 7,687,675

Highest production year: 2005 -- 153,026 (VZ Commodore)
Highest market share: 1958, 50.3% of national sales
Peak exports: 60,518 vehicles in 2005 to 10 countries including Middle East and North America
Highest number of employees: 1964, Holden employee numbers peaked at 23,914 across seven facilities in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia
Final Elizabeth plant employee number at October 20, 2017: 945