Holden New Zealand - Brands

Brands

While the Holden name was (and is) used on virtually all GM products in Australia, in New Zealand other GM products from Vauxhall, Bedford, Isuzu, Pontiac and Opel were sold as well.

However, for such a small market, it made little sense to have so many brands, so each was rationalized from the 1960s. Chevrolet and Pontiac had effectively disappeared from the market by the 1970s, though there were still Chevrolet trucks from the US and a top-end Holden Statesman with a Chevrolet V8 engine, known as the Chevrolet 350. Vauxhall's full line-up was pared back to the Chevette and Viva by 1977 as Holden's range expanded to include mid-sized cars (the Torana and Sunbird). Isuzu (selling the Gemini) and Vauxhall (with the last Chevette) disappeared on the launch of the Holden Gemini TE series in 1981, while Bedford met its demise with the assembly of the last CF vans in 1984.

As 1983 began, Holden began fielding something close to a full range: the Gemini as the entry-level car, the Camira as the mid-sized one, and the Commodore in the large sector. All ranges had sedan and wagon variants (the Gemini also had a van version), and each lineup included sporting and luxury versions.

However, the Australian Holden Camira (JB series) fared so badly due to quality problems in New Zealand that local GM bosses decided to replace it with a the GM J car based Isuzu Aska (or JJ) from Japan. This was known as the JJ Camira, and proved to be much better than its Australian-sourced predecessor. The Isuzu-based model survived until Holden introduced the ultimate Camira, the JE, which made it across the Tasman Sea in 1987.

As the 1980s continued and Holden's future became uncertain, General Motors New Zealand pondered the reintroduction of other GM brands. In around 1985, there were strong rumours, and a GM report, that indicated that Holden 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 three L engine.

Therefore, Opel made a small reintroduction with a tiny selection of highly priced models (Kadett GSE, Ascona GT, Senator, Monza) of European origin. Research showed that Pontiac had a good reputation, so rather than follow the Australian route with a rebadged Toyota Corolla, GM New Zealand brought in the Opel Kadett-based LeMans from Daewoo of South Korea, attempting to fill both the compact and mid-sized sectors until the arrival of the Opel Vectra. Despite the car's origins and place of manufacture, it was marketed in New Zealand as 'American'. Many New Zealanders never knew that "Pontiac Le Mans" was an older name for a much larger car in the United States.

In the late 1980s, General Motors New Zealand attempted to use many makes and have "GM" as the main brand. Therefore, the mainstream range in 1989 consisted of:

• Suzuki Swift - but this was marketed by Suzuki New Zealand, not General Motors
• Holden Barina (a rebadged Suzuki Cultus/Swift)
• Pontiac LeMans (imported from Daewoo of Korea)
• Opel Vectra (Holden Vectra from late 1994)
• Opel Calibra
• Holden Commodore
• Holden Piazza

Commercial vehicles were branded as Isuzu.

General Motors New Zealand's marketing strategy created little brand loyalty and consumers did not accept 'GM' as a brand, probably due to the multiple brands on offer.