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Holden Monthly Sales Slump To Lowest Volume Since 1948

Founded in 1863 as J.A. Holden & Co., the General Motors division in the Land Down Under has seen times of growth, transition, and downfall. As far as September 2019 is concerned, Holden delivered 2,863 new vehicles in Australia. The worst volume since 1948 goes to show that Aussies aren’t too fond of imported Chevrolet and Opel models.
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Compared to September 2018, this result represents a 38-percent drop for Holden. Higher-ups are willing to bet that aggressive sales initiatives will turn the business around, but nevertheless, badge-engineering is a worst-case scenario for the local division of General Motors.

Australian car manufacturing came to a grinding halt in October 2017 with Holden, following in the footsteps of Toyota and the Ford Motor Company. The automakers and government couldn’t deny the sorrowful fate of this industry, more so if you remember how many – or better said how few – cars, SUVs, and trucks are sold in this part of the world pre year.

To make a long story short, 2018 is the year Ford beat Holden for the first time in two decades. Australians bought 1,153,111 vehicles last year, 35,005 fewer than in 2017. Toyota soldiers on as the best-selling brand in the Oz, and the two best-selling models are mid-size pickups. More to the point, we’re talking about the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger.

Moving on to year-to-date results, just about every brand with sales operations in Australia posted disappointing volumes. But Holden stands out as the worst of the lot, pushed out of the top ten. Surprisingly still, Holden posted a market share of 9.2 percent in New Zealand last month.

Looking at the bigger picture, Holden is trying to be optimistic about its failing operations since the year 2000. But without a production plant in Australia and dependable products such as the Zeta platform-based Commodore, we can’t see Holden surviving for too long like this.

The automaker finished sixth in 2018 with 60,754 sales in the Oz, down from 178,392 in 2002. In the absence of the rear-wheel-drive Commodore from 2018, the Colorado mid-size pickup is Holden’s biggest seller right now.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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