CONFIRMED: Holden Commodore axed! Iconic nameplate to disappear as brand focuses on SUVs and utes

The slow-selling Holden Commodore has been axed from the Australian lineup, with the iconic nameplate to finally disappear as Holden turns its attention to utes and SUVs. The Astra has also been axed, with Holden confirming that the remaining vehicles in Australia are now in run-out and that updated models will not replace them.

Holden’s Interim Chairman and Managing Director, Kristian Aquilina, says the brand will instead focus on what it sees as a growth market in Australia. And that means utes and SUVs, with the Commodore and Astra set to be scrapped.

“Holden is taking this decisive action to ensure a sharp focus on the largest and most buoyant market segments. So far this year SUVs and Utes have increased to 76 percent of Holden sales, a trend we only see continuing,” Aquilina says.

The decision means 2019 marks the final resting place for one of Australia’s most iconic nameplates, with the Commodore attached to Holden’s most popular – and most Australian-focused – model since 1978. It also comes two years after Holden’s local manufacturing business, based South Australia, ground to a halt.

Unlike rival Ford, which opted to retire the Falcon nameplate once its local manufacturing business was shuttered, Holden chose to continue with the Commodore name, this time attached to an imported Opel Insignia.

But seriously slowing sales – the Commodore has shifted 5417 units to the end of November 2019, a drop of 37.4 per cent year on year – has seen Holden finally pull the pin on the struggling nameplate. It’s a dizzying drop for what was once Australia’s best-selling vehicle, most recently for a 14-year run that ended in 2009.

It also marks the end for Astra, also imported to Australia, which shifted 4047 units to the end of November, down a staggering 82 per cent month on month and 54 per cent year on year.

If you want either of these two nameplates, act fast. Holden will attempt to run out stock, and once they’re gone, they’re gone forever.

And so, on the 10th of December, 2019, the Holden Commodore is dead.