for other uses see holden disambiguation . gm holden ltd type subsidiary industry automotive founded 1856 founder james alexander holden original firm edward holden automobile division headquarters port melbourne victoria australia area served australia and new zealand key people mark bernhard chairman and managing director products automobiles engines number of employees 2 900 december 2013 parent general motors divisions holden new zealand holden special vehicles website www.holden.com.au gm holden ltd generally known as holden is an australian automobile manufacturer that operates in australia and is headquartered in port melbourne victoria . the company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer in south australia . in 1908 it moved into the automotive field before becoming a subsidiary of the united states based general motors gm in 1931 . after becoming a subsidiary of gm the company was named general motors holden s ltd becoming holden ltd in 1998 the current name was adopted in 2005 . holden is responsible for gm vehicle operations in australia and on their behalf held partial ownership of gm daewoo in south korea between 2002 and 2009 . holden has offered a broad range of locally produced vehicles supplemented by imported gm models . holden has offered the following badge engineered models in sharing arrangements chevrolet isuzu nissan opel suzuki toyota and vauxhall motors . as of 2013 the vehicle lineup consists of models from gm korea gm thailand gm in the us and self developed commodore caprice and ute . holden also distributed the european opel brand in australia in 2012 until the brand s australian demise in mid 2013 . 1 all australian built holden vehicles are manufactured at elizabeth south australia and engines are produced at the fishermans bend plant in port melbourne victoria . historically production or assembly plants were operated in all mainland states of australia with gm s new zealand subsidiary holden new zealand operating a plant until 1990 . the consolidation of car production at elizabeth was completed in 1988 but some assembly operations continued at dandenong until 1994 . although holden s involvement in exports has fluctuated since the 1950s the declining sales of large cars in australia have led the company to look to international markets to increase profitability . on 11 december 2013 holden announced that it will cease vehicle and engine production by the end of 2017 however the company will continue to have a large and ongoing presence in australia importing and selling cars as national sales company . 2 holden will retain their design centre but with reduced staffing . 3 in the last few years holden incurred losses due to the strong australian dollar with government grants being reduced in future . 4 in may 2014 gm reversed their decision to abandon the lang lang proving ground and have decided to keep it as part of their engineering capability in australia . 5 contents 1 history 1.1 early history 1.2 1940s 1.3 1950s 1.4 1960s 1.5 1970s 1.6 1980s 1.7 1990s 1.8 2000s 1.9 2010s 2 corporate affairs and identity 2.1 exports 2.2 leadership 3 motorsport 4 notes 5 references history edit early history edit holden and frost premises grenfell street adelaide in 1852 james alexander holden emigrated to south australia from walsall 6 england and in 1856 established j.a. holden & co a saddlery business in adelaide . 7 in 1885 german born h. a. frost joined the business as a junior partner and j.a. holden & co became holden & frost ltd. 8 edward holden james grandson joined the firm in 1905 with an interest in automobiles . 9 10 from there the firm evolved through various partnerships and in 1908 holden & frost moved into the business of minor repairs to car upholstery . 11 the company began to produce complete motorcycle sidecar bodies in 1913 and edward experimented with fitting bodies to different types of carriages . 12 after 1917 wartime trade restrictions led the company to start full scale production of vehicle body shells . j.a. holden founded a new company in 1919 holden s motor body builders ltd hmbb specialising in car bodies and utilising a facility on king william street in adelaide . 13 by 1923 hmbb were producing 12 000 units per year . 11 during this time hmbb was the first company to assemble bodies for ford australia until their geelong plant was completed . 14 from 1924 hmbb became the exclusive supplier of car bodies for gm in australia with manufacturing taking place at the new woodville south australia plant . 15 these bodies were made to suit a number of chassis imported from manufacturers such as chevrolet and dodge . 11 in 1926 general motors australia was established with assembly plants at newstead queensland ; marrickville new south wales ; city road melbourne victoria ; birkenhead south australia ; and cottesloe western australia 16 utilising bodies produced by holden motor body builders and imported complete knock down ckd chassis . 17 in 1930 alone the still independent woodville plant built bodies for austin chrysler desoto morris hillman humber hupmobile and willys overland as well gm cars . the last of this line of business was the assembly of hillman minx sedans in 1948 . 18 the great depression led to a substantial downturn in production by holden from 34 000 units annually in 1930 to just 1 651 units one year later . 11 in 1931 general motors purchased holden motor body builders and merged it with general motors australia pty ltd to form general motors holden s ltd gm h . 12 throughout the 1920s holden also supplied tramcars to melbourne and metropolitan tramways board . several have been preserved in both australia and new zealand . the holden 50 2106 utility launched in 1951 three years after the 48 215 sedan . 1940s edit holden s second full scale car factory located in fishermans bend port melbourne was completed in 1936 with construction beginning in 1939 on a new plant in pagewood new south wales . 12 however world war ii delayed car production with efforts shifted to the construction of vehicle bodies field guns aircraft and engines . 15 before the war ended the australian government took steps to encourage an australian automotive industry . 19 both gm and ford provided studies to the australian government outlining the production of the first australian designed car . ford s proposal was the government s first choice but required substantial financial assistance . gm s study was ultimately chosen because of its low level of government intervention . 20 after the war holden returned to producing vehicle bodies this time for buick chevrolet pontiac and vauxhall . 21 the oldsmobile ace was also produced from 1946 to 1948 . 22 from here holden continued to pursue the goal of producing an australian car . this involved compromise with gm as holden s managing director laurence hartnett favoured development of a local design while gm preferred to see an american design as the basis for australia s own car . 23 in the end the design was based on a previously rejected post war chevrolet proposal . 24 the holden was launched in 1948 creating long waiting lists extending through 1949 and beyond . 25 26 the name holden was chosen in honour of sir edward holden the company s first chairman and grandson of j.a. holden . other names considered were gem austral melba woomerah boomerang emu and canbra a phonetic spelling of canberra . 27 although officially designated 48 215 the car was marketed simply as the holden . 28 the unofficial usage of the name fx originated within holden referring to the updated suspension on the 48 215 of 1953 . 29 1950s edit holden s fc series was the first to be tested at the lang lang proving ground . during the 1950s holden dominated the australian car market . gm invested heavily in production capacity which allowed the company to meet increased post war demand for motor cars . 12 less expensive four cylinder cars did not offer holden s ability to deal with rugged rural areas . 20 30 48 215 sedans were produced in parallel with the 50 2106 coup utility from 1951 ; the latter was known colloquially as the ute and became ubiquitous in australian rural areas as the workhorse of choice . production of both the utility and sedan continued with minor changes until 1953 when they were replaced by the facelifted fj model introducing a third panel van body style . 31 the fj was the first major change to the holden since its 1948 introduction . over time it gained iconic status and remains one of australia s most recognisable automotive symbols . 32 a new horizontally slatted grille dominated the front end of the fj which received various other trim and minor mechanical revisions . 33 34 in 1954 holden began exporting the fj to new zealand . 35 although little changed from the 48 215 marketing campaigns and price cuts kept fj sales steady until a completely redesigned model was launched . 36 at the 2005 australian international motor show in sydney holden paid homage to the fj with the efijy concept car . 37 holden s next model the fe launched in 1956 ; offered in a new station wagon body style dubbed station sedan in the company s sales literature . 38 in the same year holden commenced exports to malaya thailand and north borneo . 35 strong sales continued in australia and holden achieved a market share of more than 50 percent in 1958 with the revised fc model . 39 this was the first holden to be tested on the new holden proving ground based in lang lang victoria . 40 1957 saw holden s export markets grow to 17 countries with new additions including indonesia hong kong singapore fiji sudan the east africa region and south africa . 35 the opening of the dandenong victoria production facility in 1956 brought further jobs ; by 1959 holden employed 19 000 workers country wide . 41 in 1959 complete knock down assembly began in south africa and indonesia . 35 1960s edit in 1960 holden introduced its third major new model the fb . the car s style was inspired by 1950s chevrolets with tailfins and a wrap around windshield with dog leg a pillars . by the time it was introduced many considered the appearance dated . much of the motoring industry at the time noted that the adopted style did not translate well to the more compact holden . 42 the fb became the first holden that was adapted for left hand drive markets enhancing its export potential and as such was exported to new caledonia new hebrides the philippines and hawaii . 35 43 the ek of 1961 was holden s response to the ford falcon with the availability of automatic transmission . in 1960 ford unveiled the new falcon in australia only months after its introduction in the united states . to holden s advantage the falcon was not durable particularly in the front suspension making it ill suited for australian conditions . 44 in response to the falcon holden introduced the facelifted ek series in 1961 ; the new model featured two tone paintwork and optional hydramatic automatic transmission . 45 a restyled ej series came in 1962 debuting the new luxury oriented premier model . 46 the eh update came a year later bringing the new red motor providing better performance than the previous grey motor . 47 the hd series of 1965 saw the introduction of the powerglide automatic transmission . 48 at the same time an x2 performance option with a more powerful version of the 179 cubic inch 2.9 l six cylinder engine was made available . 49 in 1966 the hr was introduced including changes in the form of new front and rear