History
Founded in 1856 in Australia, Holden original made saddles; switching to the automobile industry in the early 1900s. The founder of Holden, James Alexander Holden, started his saddle business shortly after arriving in Australia. At first, the company was named J.A. Holden and Company, later becoming Holden and Frost Limited after teaming up with Henry Frost. In 1908, Edward Holden, grandson of James Holden, brought the company into the automobile industry by adding car upholstery repair to the saddle company. This led to the production of complete bodies for motorcycle sidecars in 1913 and the production of full vehicle bodies in 1917.
To focus on the manufacturing of automobile bodies, James Holden founded Holden’s Motor Body Builders Limited (HMBB), in 1919. By 1924, they exclusively made bodies for General Motors, for GM’s Australian car production. In 1926, General Motors created an Australian subsidiary called General Motors (Australia). After the purchase of HMBB, by General Motors in 1931, GM merged General Motors (Australia) with HMBB to create General Motors – Holden’s Limited; with vehicles retaining the Holden badge.
Since the merger between GM and Holden, Holden has mostly been a manufacturer of General Motors vehicles for sale in Australia; with a few exceptions. After the Second World War, Holden wanted to produce their own vehicle for sale in Australia, based on domestic designs. Eventually, General Motors consented to allow Holden to produce an Australian vehicle from a failed Chevrolet proposal. This vehicle was launched as the “Holden” in 1948.
Major Events
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Holden would remain the leading automobile maker in Australia. With backing from General Motors, production capacity was increased to deal with the post-war market growth. By the end of the 20th century, General Motors – Holden’s Limited was the sole representative of General Motors in the Australian and Asian market. This Australian subsidiary oversees GM productions in Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea.
One of the major reasons for the growth and dominance in the Australian automobile market was that Holden continued to produce powerful vehicles that were capable of traversing the rugged Australian terrain. While they continued to produce GM vehicles in Australia, it was the Australian designed six and eight cylinder engines that made Holden vehicles a staple of the country.
In 1953, Holden unveiled a facelift to the Holden, dubbing the new model the Holden FJ series. The FJ was based upon the original Holden FX, with a stylised front grille and additional emphasis on comfort in the interior. This model would be sold, with a couple minor variations, until 1957, and go on to become one of the most iconic vehicles in Australia.
Going Forward
Due to the financial difficulties of their parent company, Holden saw falling sales throughout the past decade. On December of 2013, General Motors stated that Holden will eventually stop the production of automobiles in Australia. They have set a timeline of 2017 for the stopping of production; though, Holden will continue to be involved in sales, parts distribution, and design, in the Australian and Asian markets, as a subsidiary of General Motors. These changes in production will result in the loss of 2900 jobs. According to messages from the company regarding its future in Australia, it has said, “We will build and sell two of Australia’s most popular cars – the Commodore and Cruze – as well as Ute and Caprice over the next four years. Thereafter, Holden will continue to seek out the very best from GM’s Global Product Portfolio and sell the very best vehicles to Australians. We would not discuss in detail our future product portfolio this far out.” – http://www.holden.com.au/about/news/holdens-future
