The final Commodore has rolled off the production line at Elizabeth in South Australia as Holden transitions to being an importer only.
GM HOLDEN HAS held a private ceremony at its Elizabeth production facility as the last Commodore rolled off the production line. This signals the end of mainstream automotive manufacturing in Australia with Toyota also recently closing its factory.
In a statement to the media, Holden said: “From the very first Holden 48-215 to roll off the Fishermans Bend production line on 29 November 1948, to the final VFII Commodore Redline to come out of the Elizabeth factory on 20 October 2017, Holden has been a part of the fabric of Australia and that’s an honoured position that the Lion brand is committed to keeping for many years to come”.
Holden Chairman and Managing Director, Mark Bernhard, said: “Treating our people with dignity and respect was always our number one priority during this transition and we’re all proud we were able to achieve that, we see it as recognition of their dedicated service over the years. With 85 per cent of all workers to date successfully transitioning, we’ve worked closely with our people to support them.
“Holden also appreciates the partnership and assistance of the state and federal governments, along with the unions, over many years.
“Right after supporting our people comes ensuring we set Holden up for success for many years to come. The best way we can honour our people and our heritage is by building a successful future and that’s exactly what we’ll be focused on when Monday rolls around.
“Today, however, is about paying tribute to the generations of men and women across Holden and our supply network who have given so much to our company. Holden is the icon it is today only because of these passionate people. On behalf of everyone at Holden, I thank you for your service from the bottom of my heart,” said Mr Bernhard.
Holden’s Executive Director of Manufacturing, Richard Phillips, paid tribute to the people and achievements of the Elizabeth plant: “The passion and dedication of the team here is second to none, it has been an honour to work alongside them. In the final years of production, we have been building categorically the best-quality cars to ever roll out of this plant, and our last car was our best. Together we achieved a string of productivity and quality awards in recent times, doing so during the closure period is testament to the skills, professionalism and dedication of the team.”
Going forward, GM Holden will finalise its move to an importer with some design and engineering capacity which includes the retention of Holden’s design studios and Lang Lang proving ground, as well as a dealer network of more than 6000 people.
A sad day. Holden is now well on its way to be a niche player or for GM to give up and withdraw.
Yes a sad day. People have been voting with their feet and wallets and are buying elswhere. If the Ford and GM factories in Broadmeadows and Elizabeth had been BMW and Audi (or Kia and Hyundai) instead I wonder they might have remained open, keeping the parts suppliers afloat and enabling Toyota to remain open.
The true heritage that we’ve lost goes back to the SLR 5Millions and the XU1s and the A9Xs and the Monaros. Oops let’s not forget the Plastic Pig Group A VL and Brocks Blue Meanie VK. These are the true classics because they so very close to the cars that raced at Bathurst.
Where to from here? One good turn deserves another. And Kia is doing us a good turn with the Stinger GT. RWD Gruntmobile. Just hope it’s got enough headroom.