Intro: Holden was a carriage and coach-builder and in the 1920s they ventured into automobile bodies too. The Great Depression forced Holden to merge with General Motors Australia during the early 1930s.
In 1936 a new factory was erected, but the 2nd World War intervened so production only got under way in April, 1948.
From the 1950s onwards Holden has been producing distinctive models with mostly individual styling, but sometimes European and American GM stablemates are the origins.
In May, 2005 the company moved to new headquarters. Known as HQ191, it is a state-of-the art office building, located next to Holden’s heritage listed former headquarters.
Holden is cooperating with other General Motors subsidiaries, supplying its Statesman and Caprice models to South Korea (where it is being sold as a Daewoo) and to China (where it is being sold as a Buick). Its Monaro sedan was available in Europe and North America. In turn Holden receives Opel products from Europe (like the Astra, Zafira and Tigra), GM-Daewoo products from South Korea (the new Barina and Viva) and Isuzu products from Thailand (Rodeo pickup) to contemplate their self-developed products. |
