VinFast begins task of selling former Holden proving ground amid environmental concerns

Lang Lang is for sale again, following the release of an information memorandum by a commercial real estate group on behalf of VinFast.

Less than 12 months after VinFast purchased the former Holden proving ground, the Vietnamese car company has abandoned plans to develop its cars in Australia – walking away from the multi-million dollar property in Melbourne's south east.

Agent Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE) says it is accepting expressions of interest for the 877-hectare site for three weeks, unless sold prior.

VinFast purchased the facility for $36.3 million in late 2020 after setting up a technical centre in Port Melbourne, comprising many former Holden engineers. But the company shut down the engineering hub in May this year, with up to 90 employees offered the choice of a redundancy or a job at VinFast headquarters in Vietnam.

“The Lang Lang proving ground is one of the most-advanced facilities of its type in the world, with an expansive road network and improvements including a dedicated emissions-testing facility,” CBRE’s Stephen Adgemis said.

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The site features 44 kilometres of test tracks, including; sealed and unsealed roads, an off-road course, and a banked, high-speed oval – with Holden spending $15.9 million on upgrading the facility in 2018, following an $8.7 million investment by General Motors two years earlier.

“It holds a unique place in Australian motoring history, and the fundamentals that made it so successful for General Motors and Holden, and attracted VinFast to the property, still ring true,” Adgemis added.

It’s understood there are 58 staff members at the Lang Lang proving ground, with the local council saying it is working with the Federal Government to provide support for the employees.

“The loss of another operator at the facility will have significant impacts on the local economy with the current operation contributing approximately $30 million in economic output each year,” the Bass Coast Council wrote on its website.

“There is extensive native vegetation and Council is aware of the community interest to protect the environmental significance of the site.”

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In mid 2020, Bass Coast councillors unanimously supported a motion asking the Victorian Government to purchase the site due to its “environmental, cultural and coastal habitat values,” the Bass Coast Post wrote at the time.

The 18km of perimeter fencing around the secret testing facility – established by Holden in 1958 – helped to preserve coastal forest, which is home to several rare and endangered native species, including the Powerful Owl, Southern Toadlet, White-footed Dunnart, Swift Parrot, and both the Long-Nosed and Southern Brown Bandicoots.

“The property has been fenced off for over 60 years in order to keep Holden’s practices private and keep out journalists,” a report from the Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) wrote in August.

“However, the fence has also provided protection from introduced predator species such as foxes and cats, allowing the native species present within the grounds to thrive.”

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VNPA Nature Campaigner Jordan Crook says poor planning could lead to the extinction of the iconic species: “In one of the most cleared regions in the most cleared state in Australia, the Western Port Woodlands corridor is an oasis of bushland. This makes it vital to a diverse range of native plants and animals that call the area home.”

One of the key recommendations in the report is that the State Government should “investigate future purchase of all or parts of the site to protect high conservation values and wildlife corridors”.

CBRE is conducting an Expressions of Interest campaign, closing on November 18, 2021. Interested parties can contact Dean Hunt or Stephen Adgemis at CBRE for more information.

Wheels has contacted the Victorian Government for comment.