ACDelco outlet 'toe in the water' to test Holden service centre takeover

General Motors has defended its decision to focus on growing its ACDelco brand Down Under, claiming it will run alongside Holden service centres for now rather than immediately replace them.

The firm has said it will continue to operate the Holden sites, with ACDelco's initial development aimed at building an all-makes vehicle servicing network – rather than performing an instant take over from the lion and stone brand.

However a spokesperson did not confirm what the company's long term plans were for Holden.

Last week WhichCar reported GM Australia has been canvassing its remaining dealers on switching their parts and service operations for Holdens to the ACDelco label.

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While not yet compulsory, it's understood the change from Holden to ACDelco as the service brand is being heavily recommended to dealers as GMA becomes a specialist supplier.

The iconic carmaker has maintained around 120 former dealerships around the country, operating a little more than 200 sites, to continue as authorised service and parts providers – despite closing down the brand completely at the start of 2021, a decision it made after ending local production in 2017.

A General Motors spokesperson said an ACDelco service centre which has just been opened in Maroochydore on Queensland's Sunshine Coast is a part of its pilot program in developing the brand Down Under.

"GM Holden Aftersales commissioned an ACDelco pilot store, which opened in Maroochydore in June 2021," the spokesperson said.

"This is separate to the Holden Certified Service network which is still one of the most extensive in Australia and NZ, and will be here for many years to come to support the 1.6m Holden vehicles still on the road."

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According to GM, the plan is to establish ACDelco as a rival servicing business to the likes of MyCar, Ultratune and Midas – providing servicing for a variety of manufacturers.

"In addition to selling ACDelco parts to the public for all different makes and models of vehicles, the ACDelco store will also offer servicing for most makes and models," the spokesperson said.

"The ACDelco pilot store is an opportunity to ascertain customer engagement with a most-makes, most-models service operation."

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In a nod towards Holden's eventual demise, GM added: "We anticipate there will be a growing demand for all-makes servicing as the average age of vehicles increases and they are no longer covered by brand-specific scheduled servicing agreements.

"This is an exciting toe-in-the-water exercise to gauge viability of a more permanent ACDelco presence in the Australian and New Zealand markets.

"We're interested to see the results of the pilot store, and those of any other initial stores which might be established in the short term in order to develop a long term all makes strategy."

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A division of General Motors, ACDelco has been present in Australia for a number of years through its production of genuine GM replacement parts, similar in vein to Ford's Motorcraft division.

After the official departure of Holden from the Australian market at the start of the year, General Motors Specialty Vehicles now handles the importing of GM products to Australia, most notably the Chevrolet Camaro, Silverado and upcoming Corvette.