While their origins may be tinged with colours of an American nature, Holden is a true Australian success story. The only vehicle manufacturer to identify itself as Australian and produce vehicles in commercial numbers, Holden have a long history in the land down under.
Whether you’re driving the trusted Commodore, zipping around in an Astra or Hauling in a Colorado, you can be certain that Spares Box has all the right parts for your Holden available online, at your fingertips.
South Australian Origins
While the car as we know it came around in the late 1900s, Holden’s history actually stretches back over 50 years before that. Originally producing saddles from a business in Adelaide, James Holden and his German partner Henry Frost enjoyed decades of success before the thought of producing cars even came into the equation. It wasn’t until 1908, when Holden’s grandson joined the firm, that the company’s direction started to turn towards the Automotive world.
Seeing the effect that the car was about to have on the world, Holden turned their business towards making minor repairs to vehicle upholstery, gradually expanding out to the mass production of motor bodies and chassis. Ironically, Holden were producing vehicle bodies for Ford until they signed a deal to exclusively make cars for General Motors in 1924.
Dominating Down Under
Across the next 50 years, Holden, now with the full weight of GM’s invested power behind them, came to completely swamp the Australian car market. An increased post-war demand for vehicles heightened Holden’s ability to take control locally, capitalising on the need for cars that could deal with the rugged conditions of the Australian outback. The 50s and 60s saw a more progressive Holden spread their influence across the region, producing the first Australian cars to be exported to surrounding countries in a left-hand drive build.
It was with the late 60s that the famous sports cars of Holden began their entry into the market. Based on the original Holden Kingswood that is an Australian success story in it’s own right, the Holden Monaro was introduced in 1968 and has since become an Aussie icon. It’s more compact younger brother, the Torana, also saw incredible success over the 1970s, famously piloted by Peter Brock to a number of Australian Touring Car championships.
Holden Goes Global
While marketing primarily to the Australian market, in the decades leading up to today Holden have gone increasingly global in the way they both manufacture and sell their cars. As one of GM’s most successful subsidiaries, across the 80s and 90s Holden enjoyed outstanding sales with the Astra and the modern evolution of the Torana, now named the Commodore.
Holden’s line of cars also now stretches across almost all platforms and industries. The Colorado and Jackaroo have proved worthy entries into the 4x4 market, rivalling some of the world’s most successful off-roaders in sales and performance. Spurred on by their continued success in the V8 Supercars series and their longstanding rivalry with Ford, Holden have also become notorious for their HSV line, producing the famous modern muscle cars that have become synonymous with the Australian car scene.
Our Range
With such a diverse line of Aussie vehicles tailored towards Aussie drivers, it’s only right that Spares Box offers one of Australia’s largest online ranges of Holden parts and accessories. We offer premium, performance and heavy duty parts for all of the aforementioned Holden vehicles and many, many more, all of which are made to work in Aussie conditions and save you money so you can get on with enjoying your driving.
