General Motors New Zealand Limited, formerly Holden New Zealand Limited, is a subsidiary of General Motors that distributes GM' motor vehicles, engines, components and parts in New Zealand.
This company was incorporated on 4 January 1926 to build and operate a local assembly plant in New Zealand. It was General Motors' first owned, not leased overseas plant. The plant began with the assembly of American GM vehicles – Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick and Oldsmobile, followed by British Vauxhalls five years later. Following World War II, British sourced Vauxhalls continued to keep the plant running together with limited numbers (restricted by currency shortages) of Chevrolets and Pontiacs. Buick and Oldsmobile were dropped. In the late 1950s the Vauxhall, Chevrolet and Pontiac cars began to be replaced with Australian-sourced Holdens and the move to the Holden brand was completed in the 1970s.
The assembly of vehicles ended in 1990 and thereafter the business became a distributor of complete imported GM vehicles and spare parts, mainly from Australia and Korea. General Motors began withdrawing from right-hand drive markets in 2017, leaving the United Kingdom, Japan, India and Thailand over the next three years.
With Holden new-car sales in its home country nose-diving to just 4.1 per cent of the Australian market by the end of 2019, General Motors announced on 17 February 2020 that it would be retiring the Holden brand and pulling out of the last remaining right-hand-drive markets. It also announced that GM's right-hand-drive assembly plant in Thailand had been sold to Great Wall Motor.'Death of the Holden Commodore – The final autopsy' Date: 14 December 2019, URL: https://www.caradvice.com.au/814216/death-of-the-holden-commodore-the-final-autopsy/ (Car Advice Australia)'General Motors axes Holden operations in New Zealand' Date: 17 February 2020, Author: Damien O'Carroll, URL: https://stuff.co.nz/motoring/119584452/general-motors-axes-holden/ (Stuff NZ)
As of 2022 General Motors New Zealand consists of three business groups, GM Specialty Vehicles (GMSV), Isuzu trucks, and Holden Aftersales.New Zealand on GM website
Assembly plants Petone The Petone assembly plant opened in 1926 and the first New Zealand assembled Chevrolet appeared on 31 August that year. Four months later its first Pontiac was assembled and Buicks followed a month after that. Oldsmobiles were added to the range in 1928. Vauxhalls first came off the line on 9 May 1931 and they were soon followed by Bedford trucks. The plant was expanded in 1938 and again in 1939 and production diversified to include Frigidaire refrigerators and freezers, Frigidaire's parent company was owned by GM from 1919 to 1979. By the outbreak of World War II in 1939 there were almost six acres under one roof. Wartime output included munitions and Universal Carriers as well as many other smaller products. Post-war Chevrolet production began in early 1947 but for some decades new car numbers were severely limited by government controls.Heart of Holden Heritage accessed 1 February 2018
Although from March 1980 it made all the spark plugs for General Motors' production in Australia as well as New Zealand the Petone plant, GM announced plans to close the Petone plant in 1983, with the loss of 270 jobs.G.M. Petone plant to close; 270 workers affected, The Press, 24 November 1983, page 3 It was sold to ASC Flowers for use as a warehouse, with the sale being completed by September 1984.GM plant sold, The Press, 18 April 1984, page 33
Trentham The Trentham assembly plant at the inland opposite end of the Hutt Valley was opened on 26 August 1967 by the Prime Minister of New Zealand Keith Holyoake and the Petone plant devoted to Frigidaire appliances. At this time, the company had almost one million square feet of floor space, situated on three (Petone and Trentham: assembly/manufacturing plants; Upper Hutt: parts, and later, assembly, warehouse and office facilities) properties in the Hutt Valley totalling . In 1988, General Motors New Zealand announced plans to end local assembly of all but one car model, the Holden Commodore sedan, with the Holden Commodore wagon, Camira and Gemini, along with the Suzuki Swift being phased out and replaced with fully-assembled imports.GM to cut Trentham output, The Press, 18 June 1988, page 4 In 1991, it ended all local assembly of passenger cars. In 2015, the former Trentham plant was sold to Weta Digital, while existing space is used by the New Zealand Army.
Brands General Motors New Zealand assembled and imported GM products from Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac from the United States; Holden from Australia; Isuzu from Japan; Opel from Germany; and Vauxhall and Bedford from the United Kingdom.500,000th car, The Press, 22 April 1980 However, for such a small market, it made little sense to have so many brands, so each was rationalised from the 1960s.
Chevrolet 1926–1968 Chevrolet motor vehicles were imported into New Zealand in factory right-hand drive from GM's Canadian assembly plant in Oshawa in Semi-Knock-down (SKD) kit form for local assembly. The first locally-built Chevrolet came off the line in August 1926 and the first Pontiac came off the line in December 1926. Production stopped during World War II but was resumed from 1947. The Petone plant assembled the Chevrolet Thriftmaster pickup the Chevrolet Deluxe four-door sedan, and the Chevrolet 210.
GM New Zealand produced the Chevrolet Bel Air from 1955 to 1960, but only as four-door sedans.
Throughout the 1960s the Canadian Chevrolet Impala was assembled, also only as four-door sedans.
General Motors management in the USA re-evaluated its export operations in 1968 and decided to cease all right-hand-drive exports of Chevrolet and Pontiac passenger vehicles worldwide after 1968 and thus Chevrolet as a brand effectively disappeared in New Zealand (and elsewhere) for the next three decades, other than by private or special-purpose imports, such as for ambulances and hearses.
1998–2001 Both Australia and New Zealand imported the Chevrolet Suburban built in right-hand-drive in Silao, Mexico, between February 1998 and January 2001. The model was badged in both countries as "Holden."
2012–2020 The Isuzu-derived Chevrolet Colorado went on sale in June 2012 in both Australia and New Zealand, sourced from General Motors Thailand in Rayong, Thailand. The Brazilian-built Chevrolet S-10 dual-cab became the 2017 facelifted model. Holden New Zealand's managing director, Kristian Aquilina said of it: "The Chevrolet Colorado revealed by our Brazilian colleagues is the result of ongoing work between Holden, Chevrolet Brazil and Chevrolet Thailand and is a clear indication of where the Holden Colorado is heading." The Colorado and Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV were made at the GM Thailand plant for both the North American and Australasian markets and was badged as "Holden" in both Australia and New Zealand.
The first-generation Chevrolet Volt was sold in New Zealand from late 2012, badged as a Holden. Due to poor sales in New Zealand (and also Australia) the second-generation Volt was not available in New Zealand. The car failed in both countries due to the huge price tag that put the model out of reach for most people.
The third-generation Chevrolet Equinox (EQ series) went on sale in Australia and New Zealand in December 2017. It was produced at GM's Ramos Arizpe assembly facility in Mexico, and replaced the Korean-built Holden Captiva five-seater. On 17 October 2018, Holden Australia halted production on the Equinox due to slow sales and unsold inventory at its dealerships"Holden Stops Commodore, Equinox Production" from GM Authority (17 October 2018) however the Equinox continued to be sold in New Zealand through to 2020.'2020 Holden Equinox' URL: https://www.holden.co.nz/cars/equinox (Holden New Zealand)
In 2018 the U.S. Chevrolet Silverado and Chevrolet Camaro were introduced to the New Zealand market through Holden Special Vehicles (HSV.) Both vehicles are "re-engineered" (converted from LHD to RHD) by HSV Australia's production facility in Clayton South and imported into New Zealand. Both retain their original "Chevrolet" badging in both countries. The Silverado range includes the 2500HD WT, 2500HD LTZ, 2500HD LTZ "Midnight" Edition, 2500HD LTZ "Custom Sport" Edition and the 3500HD LTZ.
Camaro models offered are the ZL1 and 2SS. Of the initial 550 2SS Camaros produced in Australia in 2018, 38 of those were built for the New Zealand market. HSV's Managing Director, Tim Jackson, said: "This project has been over three years in the making and involved millions of dollars of investment in product development, testing and validation. We set out with the goal of retaining the integrity of the left-hand-drive vehicle through the adoption of extensive engineering, development, and manufacturing processes. We are proud to say we believe we have achieved our goal". Production of the facelifted 2019 models commenced in Australia from April, 2019 with New Zealand receiving its first Camaro ZL1 models in late 2019.
The Holden Colorado made number five in New Zealand's top-10 new car sales for 2019. No other Holden products made the top-10.'New Zealand's best selling new vehicles in 2019' | Date: 8 January 2020 | URL: https://www.autocar.co.nz/autocar-news-app/new-zealands-best-selling-new-vehicles-in-2019 (New Zealand Autocar)
2021–
In July 2019 Holden New Zealand announced plans for the first ever factory-right hand drive, mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette for the Australian and New Zealand markets. Following General Motors announcement in February 2020 of the demise of Holden, Chevrolet later confirmed that the Corvette may still go ahead, possibly set to arrive in 2021 through GM Speciality Vehicles (GMSV), the successor to HSV.'RHD Corvette likely still on its way downunder' | Date: 19 February 2020 | Author: Nile Bijoux | URL: https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/119628902/rhd-corvette-likely-still-on-its-way-down-under?rm=a (Stuff Motoring NZ) The first factory right-hand-drive C8 arrived in New Zealand in October 2021, with a further 28 Corvettes arriving in 2023. All 28 were pre-sold. The right-hand-drive Camaros are built at GM's Bowling Green facility in Kentucky, United States and exported directly to New Zealand (and Australia.) The NZ-market C8 is priced at NZ$154,990 for the 2LT Coupe, rising to NZ$169,990 for the 2LT Convertible and 3LT Coupe, NZ$184,990 for the 3LT Convertible, and NZ$197,990 for the Carbon Edition Coupe. All NZ models come with GM's mid-mounted 369 kW 6.2-litre V8 engine.
As of 2023, the Chevrolet Silverado continues to be imported to New Zealand from Australia in three variants: 1500 Trail Boss (priced at NZ$119,990), 1500 LTZ Premium (priced at NZ$130,990) and the HD LTZ Premium (priced at NZ$159,990.)
Pontiac Pontiac was the second marque to be assembled by General Motors New Zealand at the Petone assembly plant, with the first Pontiac vehicles coming off the line in December 1926. As with Chevrolet, Pontiacs were assembled in right-hand-drive from knock down kits, also sourced from GM's Canadian assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario. Production was halted during World War II and did not resume after the war, although Chevrolets resumed production from 1947.
After a break of 20 years Pontiac assembly resumed from 1959 with the Petone plant manufacturing the Canadian Bel Air-based Pontiac Laurentian and Pontiac Parisienne until 1968. In Australia, General Motors-Holden assembled the Canadian Laurentian until 1963, and the Parisienne to 1968.
In General Motors review of export operations in 1968, it was decided right-hand-drive exports of Pontiac too would cease along with Chevrolet, thus effectively ending the two brands in all right-hand-drive markets internationally thereafter.