Revealed: The secret plan to save Holden

Now-popular brands MG and LDV almost stepped in to keep Holden afloat as General Motors gave up on Australia.

Holden reportedly considered a deal with some of China’s biggest brands

The Chinese government-owned MG and LDV almost stepped in to save Holden from oblivion, a new report claims. CarsGuide has revealed details from a 2020 Senate hearing that seemingly confirmed there were talks between Holden and the Chinese brands to rebadge models from MG and LDV to keep the Australian brand going.

While details remain secret, it appears Holden’s parent company General Motors was looking for an alternative source of right-hand drive vehicles, while Chinese automotive giant, SAIC, was looking for ways to expand its reach in the Australian market. At the time, GM had closed local manufacturing and sold off its European subsidiary, Opel/Vauxhall, and was in need of a new source of right-hand drive models to keep Holden afloat.

LDV makes a range of utes that could have replaced the Holden Colorado

MG was already establishing itself in Australia with the MG6 from 2013 and MG3 from 2016, but partnering with Holden would have been a major boost for both brand’s sales. Holden had already been compromised by General Motors’ purchase of Daewoo in the early 2000s, resulting in less European-sourced models and instead the brand rebadged many Daewoo products of middling quality.

During the 2020 inquiry Senator James McGrath quizzed Holden’s then-boss, Kristian Aquilina, about such a proposal.

According to the CarsGuide report, Senator McGrath said: “I just want to get reassurance from you in relation to the Holden brand. MG, a famous British automobile company, is now owned by a Shanghai-based state-owned company in China. Can you give us an assurance that General Motors won’t sell off the Holden brand to, for example, a state-owned company in China, or indeed any other company? Can you give us that assurance?”

Holden needed a new supply of right-hand drive cars after GM sold Opel

Aquilina’s response was neither a confirmation nor a denial: “I’m not going to address any hypotheticals, but I want to assure you of this: Holden remains within our ownership, within General Motors ownership.”

The success of MG and LDV in recent years, suggests a potential partnership could have been mutually beneficial, with Holden’s reputation and legacy combining with the value focus of the Chinese brands could have been just what both sides needed. The combination of the MG3, MG4 and MG5 small cars, plus MG ZS and HS SUVs, plus the LDV T60 ute, D90 large SUV and range of vans could have given Holden a broad portfolio.

However, as history demonstrates, General Motors never completed a deal with SAIC and instead chose to shut down Holden completely, leaving this as one of the biggest ‘what if?’ questions in the Australian car industry.