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The six millionth Holden vehicle to be produced in Australia - a Commodore
SS - rolled off the assembly line at Holden's Elizabeth (S.A.) manufacturing
facility today.
Guests at a special ceremony to mark the occasion included the Premier
of South Australia, the Hon John Olsen, hundreds of Holden employees
and motor racing legend Peter Brock.
Achievement of the six millionth milestone comes as Holden continues
to lift vehicle production output in response to high domestic and
export demand. Holden plans to increase daily build rates from 570
to 600 vehicles by September and is examining the introduction of
a third shift.
Albert Lidauer, Holden's Executive Director, Manufacturing Operations,
paid tribute to the highly trained and committed workforce that made
Holden's Elizabeth plant one of the most flexible in the entire General
Motors organisation.
"In the years it has taken Holden to progress from five million cars
to six million, the company has undergone the most dramatic change
in its long and successful history. The plant has been transformed;
our employees are more involved and multi-skilled than ever before;
our market performance is the strongest since the early seventies
and our exports will reach record levels in the next few years," he
said.
"Holden's designs, when traced over the many milestone models, have
always stood out from the crowd. Today's brand is unquestionably a
style leader - and this is certainly reflected in the sales figures.
"We know that the success Holden enjoys today is achieved by delivering
a range of product choice that has excited the market. Equally, we
know the challenge is to maintain this level of market appeal in the
future. Our history has shown that Holden will continue to meet that
challenge," Albert Lidauer said.
Holden will donate the 6,000,001st vehicle to come off the line -
also a Commodore SS - to the Leukaemia Foundation's Patient Transport
Unit.
In 2000, Holden's Elizabeth manufacturing facility produced a record
133,151 vehicles, almost 30,000 of which were exported. Employing
4,200 people, the Holden plant is one of the most flexible automotive
operations in the world. It produces the top-selling Holden Commodore
range of sedans and wagons and long-wheelbase Statesman/Caprice models
in right and left-hand drive versions, as well as the new Holden Ute.
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