Holden New Zealand

General Motors New Zealand Limited (formerly named Holden New Zealand Limited from 1994 until 2020), is a subsidiary of General Motors that distributes GM' 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 in New Zealand. It was 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 (restricted by currency shortages) 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 thereafter the business became a distributor of complete imported GM vehicles and spare parts, mainly from Australia and Korea. General Motors began withdrawing from right-hand drive markets in 2017, leaving the United Kingdom, Japan, India and Thailand over the next three years.

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, General Motors announced on 17 February 2020 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 Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor.

As of 2022 General Motors New Zealand consists of three business groups, GM Specialty Vehicles (GMSV), Isuzu Trucks, and Holden Aftersales.

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.Heart of Holden Heritage
accessed 1 February 2018

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 (Petone and Trentham: assembly/manufacturing plants; Upper Hutt: parts, and later, assembly, warehouse and office facilities) 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 (SKD) 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 four-door sedans.

Throughout the 1960s the Canadian Chevrolet Impala was assembled, also only as four-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 (and elsewhere) 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 first-generation Chevrolet Volt was sold in New Zealand from late 2012, badged as a "Holden." Due to poor sales in New Zealand (and also Australia) the second-generation Volt was not available in New Zealand. The car failed in both countries due to the huge price tag that put the model out of reach for most people.

The third-generation Chevrolet Equinox (EQ series) 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 17 October 2018, Holden Australia halted production on the Equinox due to slow sales and unsold inventory at its dealerships"Holden Stops Commodore, Equinox Production"
from GM Authority (17 October 2018) 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 (HSV.) Both vehicles are "re-engineered" (converted from LHD to RHD) 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 (GMSV), the successor to Holden Special Vehicles (HSV.)

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.

File:1926 Chevrolet tourer (15842877055).jpg, 1926 Chevrolet Tourer. 1926 was the first year of New Zealand-assembled Chevrolet vehicles
File:1929 Chevrolet (18150355991).jpg, 1929 Chevrolet. Built at General Motors New Zealand plant in Petone
File:1938 Chevrolet Deluxe (33000341025).jpg, 1938 Chevrolet Deluxe (New Zealand)
File:1947 Chevrolet Stylemaster Sport Sedan (29326028592).jpg, 1947 Chevrolet Stylemaster Sport Sedan (New Zealand)
File:1948 Chevrolet (14670187193).jpg, 1948 Chevrolet Thriftmaster pickup truck (New Zealand)
File:1952 Chevrolet Deluxe (10166151433).jpg, 1952 Chevrolet Deluxe, assembled in New Zealand
File:1955 Chevrolet Truck (36758222164).jpg, New Zealand-new 1955 (U.S 1954) Chevrolet Thriftmaster pickup
File:1957 Chevrolet Bel Air (36944170750).jpg, New Zealand-assembled 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. Only 4-door sedans were assembled in New Zealand
File:1958 Chevrolet Bel-Air (29016765150).jpg, New Zealand assembled 1958 Chevrolet Bel Air 4-door sedan.
File:1963 Chevrolet Impala (35950016644).jpg, New Zealand-assembled 1963 Chevrolet Impala. Only 4-door sedans were assembled in New Zealand.
File:1966 Chevrolet Impala (11364117754).jpg, New Zealand-assembled 1966 Chevrolet Impala.
File:1998 Holden Suburban 1500 V8 5.7.jpg, 1998 Chevrolet Suburban 1500, badged in New Zealand as a "Holden."

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 Australia, General Motors-Holden assembled the Canadian Laurentian until 1963, and the Parisienne to 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.

File:1939 Pontiac (15521977376).jpg, 1939 Pontiac Deluxe (New Zealand)
File:1961 Pontiac Laurentian (36258822511).jpg, New Zealand-assembled 1961 Pontiac Laurentian
File:1963 Pontiac Laurentian (27398728333).jpg, 1963 Pontiac Laurentian (New Zealand)
File:1968 Pontiac Parisienne (33387804701).jpg, New Zealand-assembled 1968 Pontiac Parisienne

GMC

Although General Motors Truck Company (GMC) 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 initially by GM's Chevrolet, and later 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. (Australia similarly imported the Sierra for ambulance use during the 1990s although they retained their GMC badging and were called GMC 2500.) 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 (second-generation GMC Sierra) 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 GMC-branded 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.

File:1990 Chevrolet Sierra Ambulance (17195008096).jpg, 1990 Chevrolet Sierra ambulance. In use by a private EMS service (New Zealand)
File:Wellington Free Ambulance Chevrolet Vandura - 434 - Flickr - 111 Emergency (5).jpg, GMC Vandura ("Chevrolet" in NZ) Wellington Free Ambulance (New Zealand)
File:Wellington Free Ambulance Chevrolet Silverado's - Flickr - 111 Emergency (1).jpg, 2001 Chevrolet Silverado (GMC 2500) ambulances, Wellington Free Ambulance (New Zealand)
File:Holden Acadia Launch, 29 August 2018 (43429186695).jpg, Factory right-hand-drive "Holden" Acadia. Built in USA. Launched in New Zealand on 29 August 2018

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 (and other local competitors) used Cadillacs for passenger services (called "service cars") 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 2009 to New Zealand Holden dealership Ebbett Group for sale in New Zealand. All were sold with a three-year, 100,000 km 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.

File:1930 Buick Marquette (11373518476).jpg, 1930 Buick Marquette (New Zealand)
File:1930 Oldsmobile Roadster Convertible (15995638980).jpg, 1930 Oldsmobile Roadster convertible (New Zealand)
File:1934 Buick Straight 8 (25923822791).jpg, 1934 Buick Straight 8 (New Zealand)
File:Buick 37 New Zealand.jpg, 1937 Buick sedan (New Zealand)
File:1937 Oldsmobile (23870097680).jpg, 1937 Oldsmobile 2-door coupe (New Zealand)
File:1929 Cadillac (8115037829).jpg, 1929 Cadillac (New Zealand)
File:1947 Cadillac Convertible (8114646978).jpg, 1947 Cadillac convertible (New Zealand)
File:2009 Cadillac (14185005722).jpg, 1 of 88 Cadillac CTS sedans sold in New Zealand following the failed launch of the brand in Australia in 2008

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 and, between 1955 and 1960, the Cresta. 1957 saw the arrival of the Vauxhall Victor and in 1964, the Vauxhall Viva. The Vauxhall Cresta was then fully imported from Britain until 1965 and the PC Cresta Standard in 1966 replaced the locally-built PB Velox after the Velox nameplate was discontinued by Vauxhall in the United Kingdom in 1965. From early 1966 the Cresta was locally built at the Petone plant and, from late 1967 at Trentham, and remained largely unchanged until production end. The top-of-the-line Cresta was a rare import only model 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 UK model did not make it to New Zealand.

Victor sedans were assembled at the Petone plant with variations from their UK 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 UK 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. HB Torana SL sedans were imported from Australia to give Holden dealers a small car to sell in competition with the separate Vauxhall-Chevrolet dealer chain but this was short-lived and the updated 1969 models did not come over. New Zealand Vivas were built at the Trentham plant from late 1967 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 and 1800 which 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. The Vauxhall 1,256 OHV (from the Viva and Magnum) was the standard engine for all New Zealand Chevette models. 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, with the last car leaving the line in June 1981. 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 (as "Astra VXR.") 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 was sold in Australia and New Zealand as the Astra Sportwagon.

File:Vauxhall 1931 Cadet VX 4dr R.JPG, 1931 Vauxhall Cadet. 1931 was the first year of Vauxhall assembly in New Zealand
File:1948 Vauxhall 14 Model J (25055407856).jpg, 1948 Vauxhall 14 Model J (New Zealand)
File:1951 Vauxhall Velox (24147861269).jpg, 1951 Vauxhall Velox (New Zealand)
File:1957 Vauxhall Velox (6285298760).jpg, 1957 Vauxhall Velox (New Zealand)
File:1961 Vauxhall Velox PA (9142738620).jpg, 1961 Vauxhall Velox PA (New Zealand)
File:1963 Vauxhall Victor (FB) (10221731993).jpg, 1963 Vauxhall Victor (New Zealand)
File:1965 Vauxhall Cresta (36528619934).jpg, 1965 Vauxhall Cresta (New Zealand)
File:1966 Vauxhall Viscount PC Saloon (40251521143).jpg, 1966 Vauxhall "Viscount", the top of the line Cresta model, introduced in 1966 (New Zealand)
File:1976 Vauxhall Viva 1300 (16555450257).jpg, 1976 Vauxhall Viva 1300 (New Zealand)
File:1977 Vauxhall Magnum 1300 (35584664694).jpg, 1977 Vauxhall Magnum 1300. Unlike the upmarket UK model, the New Zealand Magnum was just a plain Viva with double headlights
File:1977 Vauxhall Chevette (14204122024).jpg, 1977 Vauxhall Chevette hatchback (New Zealand)
File:1980 Vauxhall Chevette GL Saloon (10066239444).jpg, Last of the Vauxhalls in New Zealand. 1980 Vauxhall Chevette "saloon" (sedan)

Bedford

Bedfords 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 (NZMB) at their plant in Petone.Company Affairs
''Auckland Star'' 5 June 1926 page 11New Zealand Motor Bodies plant, Keith Street
Manawatu Heritage 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.

File:1931 Bedford WLG (34040903276).jpg, 1931 Bedford WLG truck. The first Bedford model to be assembled in New Zealand
File:1946 Bedford OWB-58 Bus (30663155852).jpg, 1946 Bedford bus. "Invercargill City Transport" (New Zealand)
File:1948 Bedford MSD (LSU 544) dropside, 2012 HCVS Tyne-Tees Run.jpg, 1948 Bedford MSD truck with drop-sides (New Zealand)
File:1952 Bedford MLC (11510659526).jpg, 1952 Bedford MLC truck (New Zealand)
File:1965 Bedford J6 (28996338080).jpg, 1965 Bedford J6 pickup truck (New Zealand)
File:Bedford Fire and Rescue Truck East Coast Museum of Transport - Gisborne.jpg, Bedford fire truck at East Coast Museum of Transport, Gisborne (New Zealand)
File:1972 Bedford CF Campervan (7050126069).jpg, 1972 Bedford CF campervan (New Zealand)
File:1976 Bedford J1 (13897471666).jpg, 1976 Bedord J1 truck. Over 500,000 Bedford trucks were built on the TK platform in New Zealand
File:1979 Bedford CF 'Mr Whippy' Ice Cream Van (7899194260).jpg, 1979 Bedford CF ice-cream truck (New Zealand)
File:1979 Bedford TK (11380513395).jpg, Bedford TK tow truck (New Zealand)
File:Bedford Ambulance - Flickr - 111 Emergency (1).jpg, Bedford ambulance, built on the CF platform
File:1981 Bedford TM (27673030990).jpg, 1981 Bedford TM truck (New Zealand)

Holden

Australian Holdens were fully imported from Australia until 1957. The first Holden assembled in New Zealand was an FE sedan which came off the line on 31 January 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 to 1974. This was in reality an Australian Statesman with the bigger 350-cubic-inch V8 and badged as a "Chevrolet." While Statesman was its own marque in Australia, in New Zealand it was the model name, 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 (the Gemini also had a van version), 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 (or "JJ") 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 (and later imported) with New Zealand-only engine and transmission variants and trim levels, marketed in New Zealand as the Holden Commodore Royale:
* The New Zealand-built Holden Commodore (VH) Royale (1981–1984) was built with the Holden straight-six 1.9-litre '' Starfire'' inline-four engine with either a five-speed manual transmission or three-speed automatic transmission.
* The New Zealand-built Holden Commodore (VK) Royale (1984–1987) was based on the Australian VK Calais and featured the Holden 1.9-litre engine as fitted to the previous VH Royale, or the optional 3.3-litre ''Black'' straight-six. Unique alloy wheels were also fitted along with several other minor detail changes.
* The New Zealand-built Holden Commodore (VL) Royale (1987–1989) sold alongside the more upmarket VL Calais, but did not share its unique semi-concealed headlamps and rear disc brakes. Engine-wise, the 2.0-litre Nissan ''RB20'' straight-six engine was fitted, with the 3.0-litre Nissan '' RB30E'' six-cylinder made optional. Both engines were coupled with a four-speed automatic.
* The Holden Commodore (VN) Royale (1992) was built in Australia exclusively for the New Zealand market. Like the VL, the VN Royale sold alongside the more upmarket VN Calais, but was fitted with the 2.0-litre Opel '' C20NE'' four-cylinder engine with a four-speed automatic transmission.
* The Holden Commodore (VS II) Royale (1998) was built in Australia and sold exclusively in New Zealand. While in similar specification to the VS Calais also sold in New Zealand, this model featured the front-end of the Holden Caprice (VS), the alloy wheels from the Holden Berlina (VS) and Opel ''X25XE'' 2.5-litre V6 engine.
* The Holden Commodore (VT) Royale (1998–2000) was the New Zealand version of the Holden Berlina (VT) sedan, built in Australia and sold exclusively in New Zealand.
* The Holden Commodore (VX) Royale (2000–2002) was the New Zealand version of the Holden Berlina (VX) sedan, built in Australia and sold exclusively in New Zealand.

On 21 November 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.Survivor from the Australian Outback
''New Zealand Herald'', 31 August 2001 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.

File:1958 Holden Special (32703221614).jpg, 1958 FE Holden Special sedan, the first Holden model to be assembled by GM New Zealand
File:1961 Holden (13396000054).jpg, 1961 EK Holden Special (New Zealand)
File:1963 Holden Premier (EJ) (33274929206).jpg, 1963 EJ Holden sedan (New Zealand)
File:1966 Holden Special (HR) (35402700500).jpg, 1966 HR Holden Special station wagon (New Zealand)
File:1968 Holden Premier (16041245335).jpg, 1968 Holden Premier (New Zealand)
File:1971 Holden Torana GTR (21851849164).jpg, Vauxhall Viva-based 1971 Holden Torana (New Zealand)
File:1973 Holden Monaro (HQ) (11415742774).jpg, 1973 HQ Holden Monaro. The Monaro was not built in NZ but was fully imported from Australia
File:1978 Holden Kingswood SL (HZ) (19103140419).jpg, 1978 Holden Kingswood MOT Police car (New Zealand)
File:1981-1984 Holden VH Commodore Royale sedan (New Zealand Police) 01.jpg, 1981-1984 New Zealand-only Holden Commodore Royale (New Zealand Police)
File:1988 Holden Camira SL-X Saloon (14743985703).jpg, 1988 JE Holden Camira SL-X. The previous Camira model in New Zealand was a rebadged Isuzu JJ
File:2006-2008 Holden VE Commodore SV6 sedan (New Zealand Police) 01.jpg, 2006-2008 Holden VE Commodore SV6 sedan (New Zealand Police)
File:2013 Holden Cruze (JH II MY13) CDX station wagon (8731335750).jpg, 2013 "Series II" JH Holden Cruze station wagon (New Zealand)

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. To avoid getting caught up in Holden Australia's woes, General Motors New Zealand pondered the reintroduction of other GM brands for the New Zealand market. As a result New Zealand turned to Europe and 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

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