Holden New Zealand


Holden New Zealand Limited[Holden straight-six motor|], named until 1994 as General Motors New Zealand Limited, is a subsidiary of General Motors of Detroit and distributes General Motors' 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, 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 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 Holden vehicles and the move to the Holden brand was completed in the 1970s.
The assembly of vehicles ended in 1990 and since then the business has been the distribution of complete imported vehicles and spare parts, mainly from Australia and Korea.
General Motors began withdrawing from right-hand-drive markets in 2017, leaving United Kingdom, Japan, India, and South Africa over the next three years. By 2020, Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand were the only GM right-hand-drive markets left.
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, on 17 February 2020 General Motors announced that it would be retiring the Holden brand and pulling out of the last remaining right-hand-drive markets. They also announced that GM's right-hand-drive assembly plant in Thailand had been sold to China.

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 their 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 war 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.
Although from March 1980 it made all the spark plugs for General Motors' production in Australia as well as New Zealand the Petone plant was sold in September 1984 to improve overall business efficiency.

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 properties in the Hutt Valley totaling. In 1990, General Motors New Zealand announced its decision to phase out 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. However, for such a small market, it made little sense to have so many brands, so each was rationalized 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, Ontario in Semi-Knock-down 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 4-door sedans.
Throughout the 1960s the Canadian Chevrolet Impala was assembled, also only as 4-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 effectively disappeared in New Zealand 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 GM's factory 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 third-generation Chevrolet Equinox 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 October 17, 2018, Holden Australia halted production on the Equinox due to slow sales and unsold inventory at its dealerships however the Equinox continued to be sold in New Zealand through to 2020.
In 2018 the U.S Chevrolet Silverado and Chevrolet Camaro were introduced to the New Zealand market through Holden Special Vehicles Both vehicles are "re-engineered" by HSV Australia's production facility in Clayton South, Victoria 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. 38 of the initial 550 2SS Camaros produced in Australia in 2018 were 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.
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 General Motors Special Vehicles, the successor to Holden Special Vehicles
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.

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 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.
Pontiac made a single reappearance, in name only, from 1988 to 1993 when the badge-engineered version of the Daewoo LeMans manufactured by Daewoo in South Korea was sold in New Zealand as the Pontiac LeMans.

GMC

Although General Motors Truck Company never existed as a marque in New Zealand, GMC products were sometimes privately imported as grey-imports, a large market in New Zealand.
Since the 1920s, GMC and Chevrolet trucks in the United States became largely similar, built as variants of the same platform, sharing much the same body sheetwork, except for nameplates and grilles, but with different engines. GMC advertising marketed its trucks to commercial buyers and businesses, whereas Chevrolet's advertising was directed towards private owners. GMC had no market presence in right-hand-drive truck markets, as this market was otherwise filled by GM's Bedford and Isuzu brands.
During the 1970s and 1980s, most ambulances in New Zealand were Bedfords or International Harvesters. When production of the Bedford ceased in 1984, the national Ambulance Advisory Transport Board had to look for alternatives. Following world-wide investigations, the Ambulance Advisory Transport Board in 1988 came up with a shortlist of two suitable replacements: the Ford Transit and the Chevrolet C/K-GMC Sierra. The Ford proved to be unsuitable and so General Motors New Zealand imported the GMT400-platform Sierra, beginning in 1989, exclusively for ambulance use. They were converted to right-hand-drive in New Zealand. Although the "Sierra" name applied to the GMC variant in the United States, it was called "Chevrolet Sierra" in New Zealand and was badged as a Chevrolet. Sierras served as ambulances for the St John Ambulance Service throughout the 1990s. The GMC Vandura was also imported and converted to right-hand-drive for the Wellington Free Ambulance and St Johns Ambulance Service, and saw service during the 1990s and 2000s. As with the Sierra, the Vandura was badged as "Chevrolet." When the C/K was replaced by the first-generation Chevrolet Silverado in 1998, subsequent imports were badged as the "Chevrolet Silverado." The Silverado saw use right through the 2000s Since the 2010s the Mercedes Sprinter and Ford Transit have been the main vehicles used for ambulances, and more recently the Fiat Ducato, with bodies built in New Zealand. Some Sierras, Vanduras, and Silverados are still in use with private EMS services such as Medimax, TransitCare, and Horizons Healthcare.
With Holden Australia ending local manufacturing in 2017, Holden turned to the wider GM portfolio for future products, including the United States. Being a left-hand-drive market General Motors in the United States had traditionally never produced right-hand-drive vehicles. Consequently, General Motors developed their first factory-right-hand-drive model, the second-generation GMC Acadia which was introduced to the Australian and New Zealand markets wearing "Holden" badges in November 2018. Built at GMC's Spring Hill Manufacturing plant in Tennessee, USA, it was the only RHD model to be made by GMC in the United States, and was exclusively manufactured for the Australasian market.

Buick / Oldsmobile / Cadillac

Buick and Oldsmobile automobiles were brought in to New Zealand by various automotive importers from the onset of the 20th Century and throughout the 1920s until the formation of General Motors New Zealand. Both brands were locally assembled at the GMNZ Petone plant, with Buick from January 1927, and Oldsmobile from 1928. A snapshot of the automotive industry in 1933 shows that 86% of vehicles on New Zealand roads were American and 7% of those were Buick. Cadillac vehicles were bought in, in limited numbers and at limited times.
Outside of General Motors New Zealand, Newmans Coach Lines in Nelson used Cadillacs for passenger services during the 1930s. The Cadillac 353E was the most common model. These were brought in, often second hand, from the United States, and were stretched and rebodied in New Zealand by motor body builders Crawley Ridley in Wellington. Some of these original 1930s models remained in service with various North Island and South Island passenger services into the 1950s.
In 2008 General Motors planned to introduce the Cadillac brand to Australia and New Zealand but the plan was canned at the eleventh hour. 88 of 89 factory-right-hand-drive Cadillac CTS cars which had already arrived in Australia for the release were instead sold in May of 2009 to New Zealand Holden dealership Ebbett Group for sale in New Zealand. All were sold with a three year, 100,000km warranty. In January 2010 Ebbett imported a further 71 vehicles that had been built for the UK market and these were sold in New Zealand on similar terms. The Ebbett Group which sells multiple car brands, is now the sole distributor for Cadillac in New Zealand.

Vauxhall

Following General Motors' purchase of Vauxhall in 1925, General Motors New Zealand added British Vauxhalls to their production line, beginning in 1931. The Petone plant began with the Vauxhall Cadet. After World War II the plant assembled the Velox, and Wyvern. 1957 saw the arrival of the Vauxhall Victor and in 1964, the Vauxhall Viva. The Vauxhall Cresta was fully imported from Britain and replaced the locally-built Velox after the Velox was discontinued by Vauxhall in the United Kingdom in 1965. From 1966 the Cresta was locally built at the Petone plant and remained largely unchanged until production end. The top of the line Cresta was named "Viscount" and came standard with power steering, electric windows, reclining seats, a vinyl roof, walnut dashboard, inertia reel seat belts front, and heated rear window. The final 1971 facelifted U.K model did not make it to New Zealand.
Victor sedans were assembled at the Petone plant with variations from their U.K and Australian counterparts, and saw extensive use as government fleet vehicles. Although rare, wagons were fully imported. Victors were dropped in New Zealand before the final U.K model series was released in 1972. The last New Zealand-assembled Victors were fitted with Holden gearboxes.
While the 1967-1969 HB Viva was assembled and sold in New Zealand as a Vauxhall, in neighbouring Australia the HB was marketed as the Holden Torana, which would become further developed and built in Australia over three generations. New Zealand Vivas were built at the Trentham plant including a New Zealand-only van version derived from the Viva station wagon. Whereas the Vauxhall Magnum in the U.K was a Viva with double headlights and the highest trim level, in New Zealand the name was applied from 1975 to the Viva 1300 where it had the four-headlight frontal treatment of the British Magnum, but standard Viva interior trim.
The Vauxhall range was paired back to the Chevette and Viva by 1977 as Australian Holdens otherwise became the dominant models. The Chevette was assembled in New Zealand between 1976 and 1981 and was usually in the top-10 for "most popular new car" throughout its time. All body styles that were available in the UK were sold. The Chevette was not sold in Australia. A lower trim commercial fleet model called the Chevanne was also offered, based on the Chevette station wagon bodyshell. In 1979 the New Zealand Chevette received Holden-developed "Radial Tuned Suspension" and wider tyres, giving the car superior handling over its rivals. This mechanical update was not fitted to the European models. The Chevette competed with the expanding Japanese small-car market, finally losing out in 1980. The Chevette was the last British-sourced GM product to be assembled in New Zealand. The Australian Holden Gemini TE series replaced the New Zealand Chevette in 1981 and the Vauxhall marque was discontinued in New Zealand thereafter.
The HSV VXR Turbo was a Vauxhall Astra VXR which was imported by Holden Special Vehicles New Zealand in 2008 and again in 2015 The Vauxhall models were right-hand-drive versions of the Opel Astra OPC, made in Poland and tuned by Vauxhall in the UK. The only changes made by HSV for both generations was to replace the "Vauxhall" badges with "Holden" badges.
Holden Australia again used the VXR designation for the 2018–2019, sportier V6 ZB Commodore liftback to replace the SS nameplate used on previous higher-performance Commodore models. The liftback was also sold in New Zealand.
In 2017, Holden released a station wagon to complement the Opel-based BK Astra hatchback. It is a badge-engineered Vauxhall Astra sportwagon built and sold in the United Kingdom and is currently sold in Australia and New Zealand as the Astra Sportwagon.

Bedford

s were assembled in New Zealand from 1931, at the same time as the Vauxhalls were introduced. During the 1940s New Zealand Railways Road Services used the Bedford truck chassis with bodies built by New Zealand Motor Bodies at their plant in Petone. This became the standard NZRRS bus. When the Bedford SB bus was released in Britain in 1950, NZRRS continued to use the SB with the coach bodies built by NZMB right up until 1980. NZRRS had the largest fleet of SB buses in the world with 1,280 SB buses built between 1954 and 1981.
After World War II, Bedford trucks became very popular in New Zealand and were used as trucks, tow trucks, buses, fire engines, and ambulances during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The Bedford TK was assembled at Petone throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s. Over 500,000 of the TK were produced. It was succeeded by the Bedford TM series, followed by a "Bedford-by-Isuzu" model assembled from knock-down kits from Japan. These "Bedford" badged Isuzu trucks were marketed in an attempt to boost sales of Isuzu trucks by associating the brand with the trusted Bedford marque.
Bedford vans were assembled in New Zealand throughout the 1960s and 1970s with the last CF series assembled in 1984 upon the closure of the Petone assembly plant. Its original four-cylinder 1.8L engine was eventually replaced in New Zealand and Australia with Holden's
202 cubic-inch straight-six in the 1980s.

Holden

s were fully imported from Australia until 1957. The first Holden assembled in New Zealand was an FE sedan which came off the line on January 31, 1957. During the 1960s the Holden range expanded to include the Holden Special, Belmont, Kingswood, and Premier followed by Holden's mid-sized cars: the Vauxhall Viva-derived Torana and Sunbird, into the 1970s. The Holden Monaro was always fully imported.
New Zealand saw the 1971–1984 long-wheelbase, Statesman models that were based on the Holden HQ and continued with the HJ, HX, HZ, and WB. A variant of the HQ, built in Australia, was marketed in New Zealand as the "Chevrolet 350" from 1971-1974. This was in reality an Australian Statesman with the bigger 350-cubic-inch V8 and badged as a "Chevrolet." While the Statesman was its own marque in Australia, in New Zealand they were still marketed as "Holden Statesman."
1979 saw the Opel Rekord-derived Holden Commodore arrive in New Zealand.
As 1983 began, GM New Zealand began fielding something close to a full range: the Isuzu-based Holden Gemini as the entry-level car, the Australian-built Holden Camira as the mid-sized one, and the New Zealand-built, Australian Commodore in the large sector. All ranges had sedan and wagon variants, and each lineup included sporting and luxury versions. However, the Australian GM J Car-based JB Camira fared so badly in New Zealand due to quality problems that local GM bosses decided to replace it with the GM J car-based Isuzu Aska from Japan instead of the facelifted and upgraded Australian-built JD Camira. Still badged as a "Holden", this was known as the JJ Camira, and proved to be much better than its Australian predecessor. The Isuzu-based model survived until the Australian-built JE Camira was released in 1987. A far better car than its predecessors, the JE Camira arrived in New Zealand in 1987.
Australian Commodore models were also locally built with New Zealand-only engine and transmission variants and trim levels, marketed in New Zealand as the Holden Commodore Royale:
On November 21, 1990, a 3.8-litre Commodore V6 was the last vehicle to be assembled by GM in New Zealand, before the plant was closed in June 1991. After local assembly ended, all subsequent models of the Holden Commodore sedan, wagon, and ute continued to be imported from Australia until production end in 2017. During this time New Zealand also received the Caprice and Statesman models which were reintroduced by Holden Australia in 1990 under the Holden marque. Production of the Statesman ended in 2010, however, the Caprice remained until production end in 2017.
After importing the Korean-built Chevrolet Cruze until 2009, Holden in Australia announced a locally-produced version of the model which would be made in Australia. Marketed as the "Series II" Holden Cruze, or "JH" series, the Australianised Cruze was built at Holden's Elizabeth assembly plant in South Australia and went on sale in Australia and New Zealand in March 2011. The Australian-built Cruze diverted from the global model in appearance and in features, receiving a facelift and additional mechanical and feature updates in 2013. Holden ceased production of the model in 2016, replacing it with the fifth-generation Opel Astra hatch variant and 2016 second-generation Cruze sedan in February 2017, sold together in both Australia and New Zealand under the Astra nameplate.

Opel

During the 1980s Holden's future became uncertain. In around 1985, there were strong rumours, and a GM report, that indicated that Holden Australia would cease to exist in its current form and that its models would be exclusively designed offshore. Certainly what was happening in Australia did not instil confidence: rebadged Suzukis, Nissans and Isuzus were occupying the bottom end of the range, while the Commodore was about to shift to a Japanese-designed 3-litre engine. Consequently General Motors New Zealand pondered the reintroduction of other GM brands for the New Zealand market. As a result, Opel made a small reintroduction into New Zealand with a limited selection of highly-priced European models: the Opel Kadett GSi, Ascona GT, Senator, Manta, and Monza.
From 1989 until 1994 the Opel Vectra A was sold in New Zealand as Opel but was rebadged as a Holden after 1994 and until 1996 when the model was replaced by the Vectra B. The new model continued to be badged as a Holden, with the Astra F being introduced in 1995, also branded as a "Holden" even though identical Opel-badged models imported second hand from Japan were already being sold locally. These Opel models were not released in Australia, as Holden in Australia was still selling rebadged versions of the Toyota Camry and Corolla as the Holden Apollo and Nova as a result of model-sharing under the Australian government's Button car plan. Australia received the Astra F in 1996, a year after New Zealand.
Early models of the Astra and Vectra in New Zealand differed from those eventually sold in Australia, in that they used the distinctive 'V' grille used by Vauxhall in the UK with the Vauxhall badge replaced with a Holden badge. Later on this was changed to bring the New Zealand model range in line with Australia.
From the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s, Holden New Zealand mirrored Holden Australia in selling badge-engineered Opel models as "Holden" including the 1989–1996 Holden Calibra, 1994–2000 Holden Barina, and 1995–2009 Holden Astra.
Holden in Australia launched the XC series Opel Combo van in September 2002, badged as "Holden." The Combo was sold in New Zealand until 2013. Although European production ended in the end of 2011, Holden in Australia and New Zealand stockpiled sufficient Combo inventory to last until 2013, with the final 2011 build vehicles complianced in the beginning of 2012. The Combo was quietly discontinued with no replacement.
The Australasian market received the Opel Antara as part of the Holden Captiva range of vehicles from 2006 until October 2015. When introduced in November 2006 after being announced the previous September, the Antara-based Holden was known as the "Captiva MaXX", selling alongside the cheaper GM Korea-sourced Chevrolet Captiva based Holden models.
Vauxhall's sporty all-wheel-drive Insignia VXR, itself a rebadged Opel Insignia OPC was marketed in Australia and New Zealand in 2015 as the Holden Insignia VXR. The Opel model, introduced in Europe in 2009, had always been powered by an Australian-built 2.8-litre V6 engine which was again used in the Vauxhalls and Holdens. Holden New Zealand's managing director at the time, Kristian Aquilina, said "This German designed and engineered AWD vehicle is loaded with technology you would expect only from premium European brands. It signals an exciting future direction for Holden product." The vehicle introduced three new technologies to Holden showrooms: adaptive cruise control, lane change alert, and auto emergency braking.
After Holden vehicle manufacturing ended in Australia at the end of 2017, Holden Australia chose the second generation Opel Insignia to become the new ZB Commodore, a decision that would be extremely controversial in its homeland, but not so in New Zealand. The backlash from the Australian public resulted in dismal sales of the ZB in Australia, whereas the ZB sold well in New Zealand and was the top-selling passenger car in March 2018, according to data supplied by the New Zealand Motor Industry Association.
Opel and Vauxhall were purchased by Groupe PSA in March 2017. Shortly thereafter Group PSA announced that all GM-based Opel and Vauxhall products would eventually be retired in favour of new models developed on Group PSA platforms. News of this decision was another cause of damage to consumer confidence in Australia because of the possibility of the ZB Commodore becoming an "instant orphan." On October 17, 2018, Holden in Australia halted production on the ZB Commodore due to slow sales and unsold inventory at its dealerships. The ZB Commodore continued to be sold in New Zealand during 2019 Holden finally announced in December 2019 that the ZB Commodore would be discontinued, and then in February 2020 General Motors made their announcement that they were pulling out of the right-hand-drive market fully and ending the Holden marque.

Daewoo / GM Korea

Research showed that the Pontiac name had a good reputation in New Zealand, so rather than follow the Australian route of badge engineering Nissans and Toyotas as "Holden" under Australia's ultimately failed Button car plan, in 1984 GM New Zealand brought in the Opel Kadett-based first-generation LeMans from Daewoo of South Korea, attempting to fill both the compact and mid-sized sectors until the arrival of the Opel Vectra. As with the United States and Canada, it was badged as the Pontiac LeMans in New Zealand. It was marketed on the appeal of the Pontiac name being "American" despite the car's origins and place of manufacture. The model was sold in its final year of production in Australia as the Daewoo 1.5i.
Following the bankruptcy of Daewoo and subsequent purchase of the company by General Motors at the end of 2002, Holden began selling Daewoo cars in Australia and New Zealand in 2003, specifically the Daewoo Kalos and the Daewoo Lacetti, but sales were poor in both countries prompting Holden Australia to announce on July 1, 2004 they were stopping sales of Daewoo there with New Zealand following suit. Holden New Zealand's public affairs manager at the time, Aalbert van Ham, said it had been difficult to establish the brand in New Zealand and that the brand "had a chequered history." Daewoo ceased as a brand in New Zealand on 31 December, 2004.
In January 2005, General Motors introduced the Chevrolet brand to Europe and the whole Daewoo range was simply re-badged as "Chevrolet." General Motors' official tagline was that: "Daewoo has grown up enough to become Chevrolet." The only markets where Daewoo products were not badged as Chevrolet were Australia and New Zealand.
Despite the recent negative reputation, Holden New Zealand, following Holden Australia's lead, immediately imported a full range of new Daewoo models from 2005, all badged-engineered as "Holdens," including:
In 2011 General Motors renamed Daewoo as GM Korea. All GM Korea vehicles continued to be marketed internationally as "Chevrolet" with the sole exceptions continuing to be Australia and New Zealand.
The Korean-built Chevrolet Trax was sold globally from 2012. It was first sold in Canada, Mexico, Germany, South Korea, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, and Europe. It was sold in New Zealand and Australia from 2013; in China, Indonesia and Philippines from 2014; and eventually the United States from 2015. A 2017 facelift saw the Trax take styling cues from the Korean-built Malibu and Volt. The Trax continues to be sold in New Zealand as the Holden Trax LTZ in 2020.
The GM Korea-built, 8th generation Chevrolet Malibu was sold in New Zealand as the Holden Malibu from 2013-2014, replacing the Korean-built Epica, and positioned between the Australian-built Series II Cruze and Commodore range. The Malibu served mainly as a fleet vehicle in New Zealand.
Although dropped in Australia in 2018, New Zealand still continued to sell the Korean-built Spark.

Suzuki

1985 saw the introduction of the first-generation Holden Barina, actually a rebadged Suzuki Cultus/Swift. The model was assembled at the Trentham plant under contract for Suzuki New Zealand Limited until 1988.
The first-generation YG Holden Cruze introduced in 2002 was based on the second-generation Suzuki Ignis which was sold in Japan and other markets as the Chevrolet Cruze. The model was actually the work of Holden Australia under a joint venture between GM and Suzuki. While designed in Australia, it was manufactured at Suzuki's plant in Kosai, Shizuoka. It was essentially the body shell of the Ignis with a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder engine and either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. The model was sold in Australia and New Zealand until 2006. However, due to the high number of grey imports in New Zealand from Japan, the Chevrolet version is quite commonly seen on New Zealand roads including the Japan-only model which continued to be built until 2008. The next generation Cruze was a rebadged Daewoo Lacetti which sold from 2008 to 2011.

"GM"

During the late 1980s, and with the uncertainty of Holden's future in Australia, General Motors New Zealand attempted to use other GM makes that produced right-hand-drive vehicles and have "GM" as the main brand for New Zealand. GMNZ brought in products by Opel, Isuzu, Daewoo, and Suzuki in addition to Holden in anticipation of Holden's demise. As a result, the mainstream range in 1989 consisted of:
Commercial vehicles were branded as Isuzu.
General Motors New Zealand used the "GM" name in advertising, for example, the Holden Commodore was marketed as the "GM Holden Commodore", with the GM name and logo being used at the end of TV commercial instead of that of Holden. However, marketing strategy created little brand loyalty and consumers did not accept "GM" as a brand, probably due to the multiple brands on offer.

Isuzu

Prior to GM's partnership with Isuzu in 1971, the Isuzu brand had been well-established in New Zealand through the assembly operations of Campbell Motor Industries in Thames who had assembled the Isuzu Bellett since the 1960s. General Motors gained a 34% stake in Isuzu in 1971 and engaged in joint-ventures with them across all GM networks for the next four decades.
A full range of Isuzu trucks and light commercial vehicles were available in New Zealand during Isuzu's partnership with General Motors. Select car models developed during the partnership were also sold in New Zealand in the same time period.
In 1977 the GM-Isuzu developed Isuzu Gemini was introduced in New Zealand and marketed as "Isuzu." The Gemini had been in production in neighbouring Australia since 1975 and had otherwise been marketed there as "Holden" from the beginning. The Gemini was assembled in New Zealand until 1984, with latter models eventually rebadged as "Holden," in line with Australia.
The first-generation Isuzu Aska, sold internationally as the Isuzu JJ, was selected by GM New Zealand in 1984 to replace the Australian-built JB Holden Camira due to its bad reputation, and was sold from 1984 to 1987 as the JJ Camira. Australia continued to further improve its own model, releasing the JD Camira in the same time period. The Isuzu JJ was replaced by the new JE Australian Camira in 1987.
The first-generation and second-generation Isuzu Trooper off-road vehicle was rebadged in New Zealand as the Holden Jackaroo, although owing to the widespread availability of the identical Isuzu Bighorn as a used Japanese grey import, the Jackaroo name was used only on brand new models imported by Holden New Zealand. To complicate matters further, Troopers were also sold in New Zealand as "Isuzu Trooper."
In April 1986 the first-generation Isuzu Piazza was introduced to Australia as the YB "Holden" Piazza The Piazza was one of Holden’s biggest flops of the time and was dropped in Australia by 1988. In New Zealand it retained its Isuzu name.
The first generation Isuzu Fargo was sold in New Zealand and Europe as the "Isuzu WFR." In neighbouring Australia it was sold as the "Holden Shuttle."
For a short period between early 1998 and late 1999, the Isuzu MU was sold new in New Zealand as the Isuzu Wizard. In Australia it was sold as the Holden Frontera.
From January 1981 until 2002 the Isuzu Faster was built and sold in New Zealand as the Holden Rodeo. While the Trentham plant existed, New Zealand models were made with specifications that differed to Australian models. When the replacement Isuzu D-Max was launched in 2002, both countries marketed it as the third-generation Holden Rodeo from 2003 until 2008 when Isuzu split from GM. A facelifted model, no longer an Isuzu product and in its second generation, was after that sold as the Holden Colorado in both New Zealand and Australia, built at the GM plant in Thailand.
In 2010 Isuzu Utes New Zealand Limited was formed to sell passenger vehicles under the Isuzu brand, and currently markets the D-Max pickup and the MU-X SUV. Holden New Zealand remains the distributor of Isuzu brand heavy trucks.

Name change

From 1994, with Holden's future starting to look more secure, General Motors New Zealand changed its name to Holden New Zealand.

Differences between Holden Australia and Holden New Zealand

There have been differences between the Holden model ranges in Australia and New Zealand.
By 2019, the range of vehicles sold in Australia and New Zealand had been largely unified, with only two exceptions The last models offered by Holden New Zealand before its closure in 2020 are:
As of May 2020, there is still a possibility that Australia and New Zealand will see a small volume of GM vehicles in the future through the continuance of the right-hand-drive conversions of the Camaro and Silverado being done for HSV in Australia by Walkinshaw Performance. With Holden gone, HSV is set to be renamed General Motors Special Vehicles