Holden won't be sold, says manager

Holden as a brand is safe - at least in the short term.

The managing director of carmaker GM Holden, Mark Reuss, says Holden will not be sold, at least in the near term.

Holden's United States parent company, General Motors, has filed for bankruptcy protection in America.

"It [Holden] will not be sold," Reuss told the ABC's Inside Business.

"I can't say forever because some day when I'm not here... but we have not been approached, nor have we been offered, nor are we pursuing any sale of Holden."

Reuss said it was not a case of there being no potential buyers for Holden, which made a profit last month.

"I think this is a very closely held asset," he said. This is one of the iconic brands in Australia, and I think it always will be as long as we take care of it and feed it with the products and the different dealer services that we do today, which are very good."

Reuss said Holden, which employs more than 6000 people in Australia, would join the New GM and concentrate on manufacturing a four-cylinder car and improving technology across the Commodore range.

- AAP