Former Holden proving ground on the market

The iconic Lang Lang Proving Ground formerly owned by GM Holden is officially up for sale again, following the exit from Australia of Vietnamese start-up car-maker VinFast last month.

VinFast purchased the sprawling 877-hectare site between Melbourne and Phillip Island from General Motors late last year for about $34 million, before axing its local engineering team – which employed more than 100 former Holden, Ford and Toyota employees – in May and then announcing it would shift its R&D operations from Australia to Vietnam in late August.

Commercial real estate firm CBRE has announced Lang Lang is back on the market for the second time in 12 months.

VinFast’s abandonment of Lang Lang could open the way for the facility to be purchased by parties outbid by VinFast in 2020, reportedly including the LinFox transport company owned by Lindsay Fox, which already owns the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and Anglesea proving ground.

“Following VinFast’s decision to cease its Australian operations, the Lang Lang facility is being offered for sale with vacant possession, with CBRE’s Dean Hunt and Stephen Adgemis appointed to run an Expressions of Interest campaign closing on November 18,” said CBRE in a statement today.

The historic Victorian automotive R&D facility played a key role in the development of six decades of Holden models from 1958 and was also used by GM to test Cadillac and Chevrolet vehicles.

Located about an hour south-east of Melbourne’s CBD on the Bass Highway, it contains 44km of sealed and unsealed roads designed to replicate Australia’s unique roads, plus a 4WD course and a banked, high-speed oval.

A total of 11,920sqm of buildings including an emissions laboratory plus testing, storage and office facilities make it one of the Asia-Pacific region’s rarest automotive test facilities.

“The Lang Lang proving ground is one of the most advanced facilities of its type in the world, with an expansive road network and improvements including a dedicated emissions-testing facility,” said Adgemis.

“It holds a unique place in Australian motoring history, and the fundamentals that made it so successful for General Motors and Holden, and attracted VinFast to the property, still ring true.

“As an expansive site within a high-density employment catchment area, it offers considerable potential.”

Today’s re-listing follows a shift in strategy by VinFast, which produces a range of EVs for the US, Europe and, eventually, Australia.

“Due to unexpected situations brought about by COVID-19, we have to relocate our operation back to Vietnam to ensure product development progress,” said VinFast in August.

“In the long-term future, VinFast still considers Australia as one of its strategic markets.”