Holden will be axed in Australia at the end of 2020 - just three years after the end of local manufacturing as General Motors gets out of right-hand-drive markets globally.
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Although Holden had been posting record low sales the announcement has still come as a shock to industry veterans.
General Motors blamed "significant change globally and locally", which despite attempts to "sustain and improve the business", have ultimately brought about its demise.
In a statement on Monday, GM international operations senior vice president Julian Blissett said the company regretted "it could not prioritise the investment required for Holden to be successful for the long term in Australia and New Zealand, over all other considerations we have globally."
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"This was an agonising decision for us and one we didn't make lightly or easily," Mr Blissett said. "We only did it after looking at every possible other opportunity."
For owner of Bathurst Mufflers, and car enthusiast, Dale Cranston, news the company was pulling out of the Australian market came as a big shock.
"I think it's a pretty sad day for the industry," he said.
"I wasn't expecting it at all, when I heard it on the news I was actually pretty shocked.
Mr Cranston has more then 10 cars, and currently has a mix of both Fords and Holdens, but said over the years some of his favourites have been Holdens.
"My first car when I was 17 was a Holden, and since then I've owned a few different ones.
"I had a 2001 HSV Clubsport and I've also got a VY Commodore at the moment."
Through the business he's also done a lot of custom work on a performance Holden's including a rare 1975 Holden Torana (pictured on the front page).
The Torana, now part of a private collection, has strong ties to Bathurst. Mr Cranston said it was sold new by Bathurst Holden in 1974 to Clive Brabham, whose son Greg, is now a dealer principal at a South Coast Holden dealership.
