Report: Holden tallies $210M loss, blames Pontiac

When General Motors first announced it was sending Pontiac packing, our first thought was a pang for the loss of the most excellent G8 GXP, followed quickly by concern for Holden, the automaker's Australian subsidiary. After all, the General's Australian arm had done well by providing America with left-hand-drive versions of the Commodore to sail under the Poncho flag. Turns out Holden is now feeling the loss of that deal in a big way. According to a report in The Age, the company just announced a loss of $192 million USD. Thanks to the American thirst for Australian V8s, Holden pulled in $5.3 billion in revenue in 2008, but just $3.6 billion last year.

The pinch doesn't just fall on GM shoulders, though. Like the rest of the automaking world, Holden saw sales plummet due to a global recession last year. The loss of the Pontiac contract only added fuel to the fire.

[Source: The Age]