General Motors confirm axing of Holden brand

General Motors has confirmed that the Holden brand will be axed. The American manufacturer announced today that Holden sales, design and engineering operations will cease by 2021.

“I’ve often said that we will do the right thing, even when it’s hard, and this is one of those times,” said GM chairman and CEO Mary Barra.

“We are restructuring our international operations, focusing on markets where we have the right strategies to drive robust returns, and prioritizing global investments that will drive growth in the future of mobility, especially in the areas of EVs and AVs.

“While these actions support our global strategy, we understand that they impact people who have contributed so much to our company. We will support our people, our customers and our partners, to ensure an orderly and respectful transition in the impacted markets.”

Holden confirmed axing of the Commodore model in December last year and while there is a contract with Triple Eight Race Engineering until 2021, there are doubts on whether the contract will run its full length.

“We’ve made a commitment and certainly we need to sit down with our partners, Supercars Australia and the Red Bull Holden Racing Team, which we’ll do hopefully in the coming days to talk about the appropriate transition,” Kristian Aquilina, Holden managing director, during a press conference.

“But our intention is to still go racing in 2020 whilst we’ve got Holden vehicles out there in dealer showrooms.”