Holden ends V6 production



Holden has today built its latest Aussie-made engine.

The car maker fired-up the final V6 motor at its Port Melbourne plant this morning, ending another chapter in its local manufacturing operations ahead of the full-scale closure of vehicle production late next year.

The company has said it has built enough of the 3.0-litre and 3.6-litre V6 engines to create a stockpile that should meet demand for the final year of the locally-built Commodore models.

It has also confirmed that the 175 employees directly effected by the shutdown of the engine plant have "access to a suite of transition services and upto $3000 in approved training" as part of Holden's $15m contribution to the federal government's Growth Fund to support manufacturing employees.

It claims that 57 employees had already left before the closure and 80 percent of the remaining staff had secured work elsewhere while the remainder were either retiring or "not seeking further employment".

Last Holden V6 built in Australia. Photo: Supplied

"The employees at Holden Engine Operations have made an enormous contribution to our company and the entire Australian motoring industry," said Holden's Executive Director of Manufacturing, Richard Phillips.

"The team was recognised just this year with the top prize as the Most Valuable Plant for productivity across General Motors International, which reflects the pride and dedication of this team.

"As is normal practice in the car industry, various components are built ahead of final vehicle assembly which is why Holden's transition out of local manufacturing continues to happen in a planned, phased and orderly process."

Related Content Holden ends V6 production

Holden has stated it has made more than 10 million engines in Port Melbourne since full-scale engine manufacturing began in 1948.

The current engine factory, known as Holden Engine Operations HFV6 Plant, was opened in 2003 to exclusively build what's dubbed the High Feature V6 in 32 different configurations for myriad of General Motors vehicles.

A total of 1,137,282 engines have been built since 2003, with just under 700,000 used to powered Commodore variants while 437,436 were exported overseas.

Interested in buying Holden Commodore? Visit our Holden showroom for more information.

Go behind the scenes on Drive at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube