Hong Kong (CNN Business) General Motors (GM) is killing off the iconic Holden brand and pulling out of Australia and New Zealand, the latest in a series of moves to shrink the US carmaker's global presence as it ramps up investments in electric and autonomous vehicles.

The company announced Sunday that it would retire the Holden brand, which has existed in Australia for more than 160 years, by 2021. It will also shutter its sales, design and engineering operations in Australia and New Zealand.

General Motors added that it will pull back elsewhere in Asia Pacific. It will stop selling Chevrolet vehicles in Thailand by the end of this year, and it has agreed to sell a manufacturing plant there to Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors.

The US carmaker expects to take a $1.1 billion financial hit from the retreat, roughly $300 million of which will be a cash loss.

do so, ultimately leading to General Motors has been paring back operations in Australia for years. In 2013, it announced that it would stop making cars there, joining a long line of major automakers todo so, ultimately leading to the demise of car manufacturing in the country