Holden name doomed – Service centres to be rebranded to ACDelco

General Motors is set to hammer another nail into the coffin of Holden by rebranding service outlets to ACDelco.

The move could be the final death knell for the Holden name, which ceased as a brand at the end of last year.

GM Australia has canvassed remaining dealers on switching their parts and service operations for Holdens to the ACDelco label.

ACDelco is GMA’s parts and accessories division, offering replacement components for Holdens and other makes.

It appears GMA is looking to replace Holden as its service brand to establish ACDelco as a general automotive maintenance chain.

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Despite Holden officially closing at the start of the year, over 200 service centres still exist

About 120 former Holden dealers around the country – operating a little more than 200 sites – signed agreements to continue as authorised service and parts providers.

They operate under the Holden Certified Service banner, aimed at retaining the business of the large car parc of owners of Lion-badged vehicles.

To keep Commodore owners in the system, they are being offered a $245 scheduled service deal.

According to an insider at a major dealer group which includes ex-Holden facilities, the change to ACDelco as the service mark has been flagged by GMA dealer liaison staff.

Sources with connections to ACDelco confirmed the plan to elevate the parts brand to an all-encompassing service operation.

GMA has an obligation to continue supplying parts and service for at least the most recent Holden models for the next 10 years.

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ACDelco has been increasing its exposure through motorsport in Australia

Its back catalogue of replacement parts actually extends to the late 1990s and further, especially for locally made models – including the short-lived Adelaide-produced Cruze, which accompanied the VF Commodore on the Elizabeth production line from 2011 to 2016.

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

Its GM Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) division is selling ‘remanufactured’ Chevrolet Silverados through 55 former HSV dealers, which will also retail the imported factory-made right-hand drive C8 Corvette from the end of this year.

GMSV is also backing the change from the ZB Commodore to the Chev Camaro in Supercars racing under the new Gen3 rules from next August.

Medium-term, GM Australia and New Zealand (GMANZ) is keen to ditch the Holden brand to move on as a niche importer of high-value American vehicles.

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Holden Cruze production moved to Australia in 2011 but ended in 2016

Although on iconic Australasian nameplate, Holden no longer has relevance. Local production ended in late 2017.

The VF Commodore was replaced by the imported ZB model, sales of which were underwhelming.

Holden’s history goes back to the 1930s as an Adelaide-based assembler of GM vehicles, becoming ‘Australia’s Own’ in 1948 with the Melbourne-built 48/215.

Holdens were made in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide from the 1950s to the ’80s, when production was consolidated at Elizabeth in SA.

Four cylinder and V6 engines were made at Fishermans Bend in Melbourne – for world markets – from the early ’80s until 2017.

Production of the locally designed VF Commodore in Adelaide ended in late 2017, with the Holden brand killed at the end of 2020.

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The last Australian made Commodores were produced in 2017

ACDelco is an amalgamation of two historic GM parts divisions.

AC was famous for spark plugs, while Delco was synonymous with replacement and performance parts.

ACDelco is actively involved in racing and modified cars, with its campaign fronted by V8 legend Craig Lowndes.

The Holden brand is already officially dead in Supercars.

The front-running Triple Eight team’s Holden Racing Team status ended a year early this season and the ZB Commodore racer will be replaced by a Camaro-look Gen3 version.

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The Chevrolet Camaro will spearhead GM's Supercars campaign in the Gen 3 era

Holden has history – but also baggage that GM wants to shed.

At the risk of alienating Holden owners, who are probably already disenfranchised, converting existing service dealers to generic ACDelco outlets will broaden GMA’s market long-term.

There will presumably be flow-on effects in NZ, where Holden had been GM’s primary brand since the ’80s.

After more than 70 years of direct involvement in Australia, GM has shrunk to a minor importer while trying to maintain a connection with the hundreds of thousands of Holden owners.

That allegiance will decline as aging cars fall out of the official system.

Under the ACDelco banner, with lower rates, dealers have a chance to keep customers and attract brand agnostic owners.

Holden, for all it stood, is gone and will be forgotten within a decade.