Holden and Ford have provided Australian police with vehicles for quite some time, with the odd Mitsubishi and Toyota model thrown in here and there. But over the last 15 years, all four automakers shut down their factories in Aussie, with police slowly phasing out locally built models since then.
Police in Melton, Victoria are the latest to retire the remaining Holden Commodore SS vehicles in the fleet.
Known to local police as 'Thomas', the Commodore was retired on November 30, having first been delivered in February 2018. The vehicle was a run-of-the-mill police car used for your average daily traffic patrols. It was also used in bushfire-affected areas and at border checkpoints which were established with lockdown restrictions due to the pandemic.
The Holden Commodore was a popular choice for police vehicles, our police used the V6 version here in New Zealand.
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The Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon were the default Australian police vehicles for years, and replacing them has proved difficult. Some police forces have selected the Kia Stinger as a replacement, with others deciding to switch to SUVs. The Melton Police Force has chosen the BMW X5 to replaces its beloved V8 Commodore.
With the automotive market in general moving away from sedans as the most popular body style, it's no surprise that budget-conscious fleet buyers are going the same way.
With the last of the Holdens in service leaving police fleets this year, and it won't be long until they're all history.
