GM confirmed: the Holden brand goes down in History

General Motors has “succeeded” in something few companies have managed to do – to bury a huge number of car brands. Yesterda, General Motors has confirmed, 2020 will be the last production year of the Holden –  Australia’s Iconic car brand . This is how Holden experienced the fate of Saab. Holden announced yesterday that General Motors will be retiring the Holden brand in Australia and New Zealand. This announcement will be felt deeply by the entire Holden family, their customers and their fans. Interesting, Holden was started in 1856 and
GM bought it in 1931!

Indeed, Holden was pretty much dead when you gave up on local production, it just took 3 years to switch off the life support. Holden died on 2017. This announcement was imminent because GM have 3 LHD markets that didn’t sell that well. Now, they will have none, and from a economical point, it make sense. Holden GM will prove as another case study for marketing students of how to openly kill a brand, utter madness from GM.

Holden and Saab had strong ties within the GM group and shared development potential. Saab has used a 2.8-litre turbocharged version of the Alloytec V6 engine made at Holden’s Fishermans Bend engine building plant in high-end models of its Saab 9-3 sedan, wagon and cabriolet for a number of years.

It’s sad the automotive industry had to change. Or not. The Automotive Industry has been changing for over 100 years, and all players in the market must follow all the major trends.

We understand the impact of this decision on their customers, their people, their Dealers and their partners. Today is a sad day for the Holden family. They are committed to a transition that lives up to Holden’s proud history.

Holden will establish a national aftersales network to support existing customers for at least the next 10 years. All current Holden dealers will be offered the opportunity to transition to Holden authorised service outlets. Holden Dealerships still have a range of new, demonstrator and used vehicles available for sale. Each Dealer will be working through their options. Holden owners will continue to be supported by a national aftersales network for at least 10 years. Customers can be assured that Holden will honour all warranties and servicing agreements, as well as providing spare parts, repair, service and any required recall or field actions.

LP9

his engine is also known as a A28NET, Z28NET, Z28NEL or B284.

The LP9 is a 2.8 L turbocharged version used for the Saab 9-3, Saab 9-5 and other GM vehicles. It has the same bore and stroke as the naturally aspirated LP1, however the compression ratio is reduced to 9.5:1. The engine is manufactured at Holden’s Fishermans Bend engine factory in Port Melbourne, Australia, while GM Powertrain Sweden (formerly Saab Automobile Powertrain) is responsible for turbocharging the engine.