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"These pages contain just a small piece of the history that is the Holden tradition."
The first Australian mass produced car is released 29 November 1948 from the Fishermen's Bend factory, Victoria, Australia.
It is known as the Holden 48/215. For the rest of us it is known simply as the FX model. The 132.5 cubic inch 6 cylinder engine sedan was priced at AUS$1,466 including tax.
Over five million cars later things have changed from engines to seat belts, but the Holden car has always been part of Australia.
This is a story of how a country with a small population which produced wheat and wool, sought to establish a manufacturing industry. To many people in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, Holdens were more than just a make of motor car, they were as much part of Australia as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Bondi Beach, Ayers Rock, or any other Aussie icon you care to name.
The name of the company that started as J.A .Holden and Co. changed to Holden and Birks, back to J.A. Holden and Co, then to J.A .Holden and Son, Holden and Frost, then Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd, General Motors Holden's, Holden's Motor Company in 1986 and finally to General Motors-Holden's in 1988. The 'Holden" part of the name belonged to James Alexander Holden, an Englishman from Stafordshire whose trade was listed as a leather-worker cum saddle maker. As Holden and Frost Ltd, the company repaired and built horse-drawn carriages and coaches.
In 1913, Holden and Frost began production of complete motor-cycle sidecar bodies and later in the year produced its first custom-made car body. In 1917 the company put a new sign on the door - Holden's Motor Body Builders - and completed 99 car bodies in the first year. These cars used a Dodge and Buick chassis. Holden gradually developed a reputation for value-for-money and quality, which it still enjoys to this day. The next 2 years saw nearly 2200 car bodies being manufactured with the Woodville production line established in 1924 - Holden's were now the biggest body builder in Australia, turning out railway carriages, bus and tram bodies in addition to car bodies. It was in this decade that the famous 'lion and stone' badge was first used.
When the depression struck at the end of the decade, Holden resorted to making fruit cases, golf clubs and even filing cabinets to keep alive. General Motors Australia (who formed in 1926), weathered the depression better than Holden and merged to form General Motors-Holden in the early thirties. By 1935 GM-H vehicle sales had lifted to 23,129 and for that year a $1.5 million profit was declared.
In 1936, GM-H was in the process of setting up the 20 hectare Fisherman's Bend plant with the massive financial backing of American General Motors Corporation, GM-H believed it was impregnable. Unfortunately, GM-H didn't bank on annother World War. GM-H's factories were invlved in the war effort, turning out aeroplane engines and frames, bomb cases, anti-tank guns, machine guns and other requirements of the Australian military. By the mid forties, GM-H had being forced by necessity to engage in a whole new manufacturing strategy, emerging from the war years more experienced in the manufacture of engine blocks and other components completely in-house. This set the scene for the car to be known as 'Australia's Own'.
In 1944 the GM corporation approved the concept of an Australian car. Advocates of the locally built car found that the the average Australian required a car which had space for six passengers, an overhead valve 6 cylinder motor, smart appearance and a majic 30 miles to the rationed gallon. A mock-up with square headlights was produced but was rejected by Detroit in favour of an American design.With backing from the Commonwealth Bank and the Bank of Adelaide arranged by Prime Minister Ben Chifley, a working prototype was produced. Three hand-made prototypes were then built and tested in Detroit. In late 1946 they were shipped to the Fisherman's Bend plant and subsequently tested on rough roads outside Melbourne. At this stage the Australian car was top secret until the announcement of the name and a run of 10 cars (to 'clear the line') were produced in April 1948.
On 29 November 1948 the first production car rolled off GM-H's Fisherman's Bend line. The nation responded with an excitement seen only on VJ Day. To most Australians this signified a new age of prosperity.
"The Holden legend was born"
By 1950, production was up to 20,000, and to 32,000 in 1952 when Holden's total market share first exceeded all other manufacturers. The credit squeeze of 1961 included a heavier tax on motor vehicles, significantly affecting Holden sales. Ford's entry into the car market in 1960 also meant Holden had competition, the foundation being laid for the "Ford versus Holden' contest which continues to this day.
Export of the FB and EK during 1959 to 1960 reached 18,000 cars. In 1962 the first Valiant was released - Holden was now truly under attack. With model and engine changes during the next decade, Holden managed to hold its market share. The totally new HQ model (biggest and heaviest) was so successful that it stayed in production for the unusually long period of three years when nearly 500,000 cars were produced.
The oil crisis and soaring fuel prices and the burgeoning environmental movement meant that by 1979, six cylinder car sales dropped to 30% of the market. Four cylinder cars were now the fashion so Holden brought out the 4 cylinder Gemini. By 1982 Ford's Falcon had hit the front in the new car sales and the release of a Nissan powered VL model did not help Holden. In 1986 it had to be bailed out by its GM parent due to top heavy management and the need to keep operating factories in four states - !998 saw the merger with Toyota to form United Australian Automotive Industries Ltd, a marriage which dissolved in 1996.
Holden's 40th birthday was celebrated by the release of the radically new Commodore VN with a new, locally built 3.8 litre V6 engine which still forms the basic power plant of current Commodores.
Click the model number to find out its history!
| MODEL | PRODUCTION COMMENCED | BODY SHAPE |
|---|---|---|
| 48-215 | 1948 |  |
| FJ | 1953 |  |
| FE | 1956 |  |
| FC | 1958 |  |
| FB | 1959 |  |
| EK | 1961 |  |
| EJ | 1963 |  |
| EH | 1963 |  |
| HD | 1965 |  |
| HR | 1966 | 
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Holden cars, good, bad and indifferent, past and present, still remain part of Australia's way of life.
