The Holden car brand will be 'retired' in Australia and New Zealand after General Motors announced it was dumping the name synonymous with Australian motoring by 2021.
General Motors closed the Holden manufacturing operations in Australia in 2017 and today announced that it would "cease Holden sales, design and engineering operations by 2021 (with) plans to focus on growth opportunities in specialty vehicle business".
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"After comprehensive assessment, we regret that we could not prioritise the investment required for Holden to be successful for the long term in Australia and New Zealand, over all other considerations we have globally," GM International Operations Senior Vice President Julian Blissett said on Monday.
GM President Mark Reuss said the company explored a range of options to continue Holden operations, but none could overcome the challenges of the investments needed for the highly fragmented right-hand-drive market, the economics to support growing the brand, and delivering an appropriate return on investment.
"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," he said.
"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 prioritize 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."