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Holden by the numbers: the highs and lows since 1948

Holden's journey in numbers.


  • 485,650: The biggest selling Holden of all time, the HQ Kingswood, made from 1971 to 1974.
  • 303,895: The biggest selling Commodore of all time, the VT series, made from 1997 to 2000.

 

1948: The year the first Holden-badged car rolled off the production line.

 

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1954: One in three cars on the road is a Holden.

1958: One in two cars on the road is a Holden.

1960: The first Holden left-hand-drive export began when the FB model was sent to Hawaii. 

1962: The 1 millionth Holden is made since 1948, an EJ model.

  • 23,914: The number of workers Holden employed across seven manufacturing facilities Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia in 1964.

 

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1969: First Australian-made V8, Holden tops 2 million vehicles made since 1948.

1974: Holden builds its 3 millionth car since 1948, a HQ Kingswood.

 

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1978: Holden celebrates 25th consecutive year of market leadership as it introduces the Commodore nameplate to Australia as a replacement for the iconic Kingswood.

1981: The 4 millionth Holden is made since 1948, a VC Commodore.

1990: The 5 millionth Holden is made since 1948, a VN Calais. This tally is more than twice as many as any other Australian-made cars at the time.

2001: The 6 millionth Holden is made since 1948, a VX Commodore SS.

 

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2002: The last time Holden was the top-selling brand in Australia, with 21.6 per cent share of the entire market.

2008: The 7 millionth Holden is made since 1948, an LPG Commodore.

2010: The last time the Commodore was Australia’s top selling car. It was Number One for a record 15 years in a row. No other nameplate has dominated the Australian car market for so long.

  • 7,687,675: The total number of Holdens made in Australia since 1948.

2.3 million: The number of Holden Commodores built in Australia since 1978, not including models exported to the US and the Middle East as Chevrolet and Pontiac sedans.

 

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Where Holden’s dealers are located according to state and territory

  • NSW and the ACT: 65
  • Northern Territory: 2
  • Queensland: 40
  • South Australia: 20 
  • Tasmania: 4
  • Victoria: 49
  • Western Australia: 24
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Joshua Dowling

Joshua Dowling has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years, spending most of that time working for The Sydney Morning Herald (as motoring editor and one of the early members of the Drive team) and News Corp Australia. He joined CarAdvice / Drive in 2018, and has been a World Car of the Year judge for more than 10 years.

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