A Melbourne factory which previously produced Volkswagen, Nissan and Volvo vehicles for decades has been demolished to make way for a data centre on the same site that has already claimed the former Holden Special Vehicles headquarters.
The long-defunct car manufacturing plant on Centre Road, Clayton, which first produced Volkswagen Beetles in 1954, was demolished this week to make way for a ‘state of the art data centre’.
Bosch Australia business development manager, Paul Gekas, filmed the occasion from the company’s headquarters adjacent to the plant at 1555 Centre Road (below).
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Initially owned by Martin and Kings Ltd before Volkswagen bought the factory in 1968, the factory later expanded its production to include Datsun (the name of Nissan’s motor vehicle brand at the time) and Volvo vehicles.
Volvos were also made in the plant between 1972 and 1988, including Volvo 140, 240, 260 and 740/760 Series models.
It stopped producing Volkswagens in 1977 and was purchased in 1988 by Nissan, which wound up its local vehicle manufacturing in 1992 after producing local models including the Pintara sedan and wagon (and later a hatch).
Nissan continues to supply parts globally for both its own brand other alliance partners including Renault through its casting plant at nearby Dandenong.
The levelling of the former Volkswagen, Volvo and Nissan factory follows the demolition of the former headquarters of Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) and its motorsport offshoot, the Holden Racing Team (HRT), on the same broader Clayton Business Park site.
Both entities were part of the Walkinshaw Group (then known as TWR), with HSV formed by Tom Walkinshaw in 1987 after the collapse of Peter Brock’s Holden Dealer Team Special Vehicles enterprise in controversial circumstances.
Walkinshaw Automotive now develops and remanufactures the Ram 1500/2500, Toyota Tundra and Chevrolet Silverado pickups to right-hand drive for their respective brands in Australia.
In April next year, Walkinshaw will finish moving from its current Clayton South site into its new premises in Dandenong South to continue its extensive operations, including the Walkinshaw Andretti United team’s switch from Ford Mustang to Toyota Supra in the Australian Supercars championship from 2026.