Tag: local manufacturing

Categories
Ford Motorsports

Ford confirms V8 Supercars exit after 2015 season

Ford V8 Supercar

It’s now official: Ford will pull out of V8 Supercars after the completion of the 2015 season. It’s a story that’s been on the boil for months and was today confirmed by Ford Australia boss Bob Graziano.

“This afternoon, we will announce we will provide support to teams racing Ford Falcons in the 2015 V8 Supercars series but will not renew our sponsorships after the 2015 season,” Graziano said.

“We are electing to invest our funds to continue expanding and refreshing our product lineup while delivering a leading consumer experience.

“You will hear much more about this investment at our ‘Go Further 2020: Experience the Future Today’ event beginning next week.

“There has already been a lot of speculation and confusion about what this means for Ford going forward. Let me be clear about a few key points:

  • Performance is part of our DNA, and will continue to be, as we increase our vehicle offerings and enthusiasts look for a wider range of performance models such as cars like Mustang, Fiesta ST and Focus ST.
  • Ford is proud to launch the FG X Falcon, including building on our performance heritage by racing the new model in V8 Supercars in 2015.
  • This decision is not a short-term plan as we transform our business.

“We are proud of the teams and our history in the series but have made this decision so we can move forward by focusing all of our attention on our great products and consumer experience.”

So, there you have it. A series originally designed to be a two-man show at the expense of all others, will soon lose one of its leading men.

[Source: Speedcafe]

UPDATE: Prodrive Racing Australia (aka Ford Performance Racing) is considering its options beyond 2015, saying it’s possible it will run the FG X Falcon in 2016.

Categories
Ford Motorsports

V8 Supercars: Ford’s Car of the Past?

Ford V8 Supercar

According to the rumours Ford will pull out of V8 Supercars at the end of the 2015 season. This, despite US powerhouse Penske signing a deal with Dick Johnson Racing. As it stands there will only be six Fords on the grid next year.

The mainstream media is bemoaning the end of the classic Ford v Holden rivalry. To be honest, it was that rivalry, and the organsiers’ pursuit of it post the Nissan GT-R era, that lost me to local touring car racing. It was just too contrived and too insular for me. I liked the variety of the pre-V8 Supercars era. Where I used to follow the local tintops with great enthusiasm I became moderately interested around Bathurst, but that was it.

Preivously, I’ve been sceptical of the Car of the Future concept, but thankfully for fans of the sport manufacturers like Nissan, Mercedes and Volvo have come on board.

Now that Ford looks increasingly likely to pull the pin—a reasonable decision given the lack of local product you would think—I find that my level of interest in this decision is incredibly low.

So, Ford will leave V8 Supercars. Does anyone really care?

Categories
Holden

Holden HSV GTS Maloo ute: The best show pony ever?

HSV Gen F GTS

The Holden ute is an Aussie icon, and while its passing will be a sad day, HSV is going to send off the ute by creating the greatest and fastest show pony it has ever made. The exact model name is yet to be confirmed but the working title of HSV GTS Maloo seems to make sense.

We’ve known about this you beaut ute for some time but have been sworn to secrecy. Thanks to news.com.au who have broken the ice we can now share news of the GTS Maloo and perhaps a little bit more.

The GTS Maloo will be limited to 150 units and despite the expected mid-80s price tag it’s likely to become one of the most collectable HSVs of all time. Only 120 of those may be sold in Australia with up to 30 being allocated for New Zealand buyers.

It’s an HSV ute, right, so its closing party trick has to be big power. Big, big power! Essentially the ute will simply knock-off the drivetrain from the GTS sedan, including its 6.2 litre supercharged V8. That means it will bring a mighty 430kW/740Nm to the table. For the old skool readers among you that’s 576hp!

Predictions for the GTS ute’s 0–100km/h time are in the mid-4 second bracket, but it’s the in-gear acceleration that 740Nm of torque will bring which should bag the biggest smiles this ute has to offer. Oh, aside from the silly sideways stuff that is.

HSV’s Magnetic Ride Control will be fitted standard and will help ensure all that power can get to the ground with some degree of decorum, while massive racing-inspired AP brakes will help to slow things down.

There will be a choice of manual and automatic transmissions and if you want the slushbox you’ll be getting flappy paddles for the first time in an HSV.

We assume Torque Vectoring and Launch Control (manual transmission only) will also carry over from the GTS sedan, although our source has not been able to confirm this.

Cosmetic enhancements for the GTS Maloo will also follow the lead from its four-door counterpart, both inside and out.

We’ve been told that the HSV dealership network has already been notified of their allocations, colour choices and options. So even though there has been no official announcement, if you just want one, we suggest you act now.

In other VF ute related news it’s understood the end of Commodore ute production will be brought forward to 2015, rather than 2016 as previously reported. This is due in part to fact the ute is one of the most expensive products in the Commodore model range to manufacture.

[Source: news.com.au | Thanks to Shaz for the tip]

Categories
Toyota

Well they did buy a Toyota after all

Toyota Camry Hybrid

At the risk of offending the majority of Australia’s car buying public we have to chuckle at a story being run by GoAuto, which highlights the ignorance of the average Toyota consumer.

Turns out many Toyota buyers had no idea the Japanese giant built cars in Australia and on hearing reports of Toyota leaving Australia they’ve been sent into a tailspin and contacting dealerships to ask what will happen after Toyota stops selling cars down under. Yes, really.

To be fair, it appears the majority of automotive consumers are unaware of Toyota Australia’s local manufacturing. According to sales and marketing boss Tony Cramb, a typical survey shows only 20% of respondents are aware that Toyota builds cars on our shores.

GoAuto explains:

Initial feedback from customers and dealers suggests that many Australians believe Toyota will abandon the market altogether when its Victorian plant in Altona plant ceases to make the Camry and Aurion…

One cited reason for customer confusion is understood to be the fact that a large proportion of the car buying public has been unaware Toyota builds cars in Australia in any form.

Oh what a reeling!

[Source: GoAuto]

Categories
Ford Holden News Toyota

Stuff the local industry, just give us cheaper cars!

Port Kembla

The Australian Automobile Association hasn’t wasted any time shedding tears for the demise of Australia’s car making industry. No, they’re starting the call for making our imported cars cheaper.

To be fair the AAA has anointed itself to represent “the interests of all Australian motorists nationally and internationally” and so giving too much thought to the origin of the cars we drive isn’t too high on its agenda. Just make them bloody cheaper!

Firmly in the AAA’s sights are the last few dregs of import tariffs charged on imported vehicles. Unsurprisingly, it is the Australian public’s thirst for imported vehicles—which nobody really wants to mention while crying over the spilt milk left by Ford, Holden and now Toyota as they get set to march their token manufacturing operations off shore—that’s a real nail in the coffin for local assembly lines.

Last year 90% of all new vehicles sold were imported; as the saying goes, money talks and bullshit walks. As a result the AAA says now is the time to lift tariffs.

“With local manufacturing coming to an end it is only fair that tariffs on imported vehicles must also stop,” said Andrew McKellar, AAA Chief Executive. “If tariffs were designed to help protect the local industry then there is no longer any justification to maintain them.”

“The removal of tariffs could save the average new car buyer between one and two thousand dollars on the cost of a vehicle,” Mr McKellar added. “The Government must use the upcoming Federal Budget to announce the end of vehicle import tariffs in order to improve motoring affordability.”

We think the people cheering the loudest over this call to arms will not be the public, but the car dealerships who will, of course, pass on any savings to the buying public. Wink, wink.

Continue reading “Stuff the local industry, just give us cheaper cars!”
Categories
News Toyota

Toyota Australia to stop local production in 2017

Toyota Camry Hybrid

Toyota Australia will cease its local production at the end of 2017. Toyota officials addressed workers this afternoon with more than 2500 staff expected to lose their jobs. Further job losses will follow in related component and parts making industries.

Toyota Australia currently makes the Camry, Camry Hybrid and Aurion models at its Altona factory in Melbourne.

The news was broken by the ABC and has since been confirmed in an official press release from Toyota Australia.

Toyota Australia President and CEO, Max Yasuda, said: “This is devastating news for all of our employees who have dedicated their lives to the company during the past 50 years.

“We did everything that we could to transform our business, but the reality is that there are too many factors beyond our control that make it unviable to build cars in Australia.

“Although the company has made profits in the past, our manufacturing operations have continued to be loss making despite our best efforts.”

Last December Holden announced it would close its local manufacturing operations in 2017. Ford Australia lead the charge off shore in May last year when it too confirmed its withdrawal from local production.

It was only a matter of time until Toyota followed suit, with the Australian car buying public continuing to show a thirst for imported models.

Continue reading “Toyota Australia to stop local production in 2017”
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Ford Holden News

Commodore and Falcon decline tells the real story

Commodore and Falcon sales over last 30 years

As the fallout and childish finger pointing from politicians tries to pin the blame for the decision from Ford and now Holden to stop making cars in Australia, this graph from News Limited, first published in January, tells us all we need to know.

Yes, the graph stops at the end of 2012 and so doesn’t include increasing sales of the new VF Commodore, but c’mon, does anyone really expect the VF to reach the peak of 90,000+ annual sales from the late 1990s?

If you don’t like the graph, Autocar has summed up the sales woes of the Commodore in words:

Holden’s failure to sell enough cars in its home market is its ultimate downfall. In 2002, Holden sold 80,000 Commodores (its staple large saloon, built locally). Last year it sold just 30,000. With a break-even figure of 40,000, this has been a long time coming.

Of course issues such as union-backed wage increases, the high Australian dollar, increasing fuel prices, the rise and rise of SUVs and other factors have all influenced the purchasing decisions of Australians in recent years.

Whatever you believe to be the cause, the effect of dramatically declining sales for the Commodore and Falcon paints the true picture. Couple that with a new car sales market in Australia that is otherwise quite healthy and the decision for the two US auto giants to abandon ship was a bit of a no-brainer.

It still sucks, though.

[Source: News Ltd]

Categories
News Toyota

Toyota Australia sounds ominous warning

Toyota Camry Hybrid

Toyota has issued an official response to news Holden will stop making cars in Australia by the end of 2017. And it’s not going to fill the local manufacturing industry with much confidence.

Toyota Australia responds to GM Holden announcement

We are saddened to learn of GM Holden’s decision.

This will place unprecedented pressure on the local supplier network and our ability to build cars in Australia.

We will now work with our suppliers, key stakeholders and the government to determine our next steps and whether we can continue operating as the sole vehicle manufacturer in Australia.

We will continue with our transformation journey as planned.

Categories
GM Holden News

Holden to cease local production in 2017

Holden VF Calais

News has come through from General Motors in Detroit confirming the inevitable: Holden will stop making cars in Australia in 2017.

GM’s full statement can be read after the break, but here’s a few snippets:

“We are completely dedicated to strengthening our global operations while meeting the needs of our customers,” said GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson. “The decision to end manufacturing in Australia reflects the perfect storm of negative influences the automotive industry faces in the country, including the sustained strength of the Australian dollar, high cost of production, small domestic market and arguably the most competitive and fragmented auto market in the world.”

…

Holden will continue to have a significant presence in Australia beyond 2017, comprising a national sales company, a national parts distribution centre and a global design studio.

…

Since 2001, the Australian dollar has risen from US$0.50 to as high as US$1.10 and from as low as 47 to as high as 79 on the Trade Weighted Index. The Australian automotive industry is heavily trade exposed. The appreciation of the currency alone means that at the Australian dollar’s peak, making things in Australia was 65 percent more expensive compared to just a decade earlier.

This may have been a day we knew would come, but it doesn’t make it any easier to accept. We hope those many thousands of workers who will lose their jobs are able to minimise the impact they will face.

Ford 2016; Holden 2017; how long until Toyota pulls the plug?

[Pic: GM Corp]

Continue reading “Holden to cease local production in 2017”
Categories
Holden News

Holden boss: “No decision has been made”

Mike Devereux, Holden Managing Director

While fronting the Productivity Commission earlier today Mike Devereux, GM Holden Managing Director, was asked if the company had already decided to close down its local manufacturing as soon as 2016. His reply: “No decision has been made.”

He went on to compare government subsidies with other sectors, suggesting the cost of losing the automotive sector in Australia would have ramifications well beyond the outlay of any subsidies received: “The $3 billion a year that goes into mining companies … I’m not criticising that … or $5 billion in subsidies for negative gearing. But the budgetary cost of losing this industry would dwarf the cost of losing it.”

Devereux claims it costs Holden around $3750 more per car to manufacture in Australia, which equates to around $300 million each year. The magic number reported to keep Holden happy to keep making cars in Australia is an extra $150 million per year in government support.

There are many very sound arguments for fighting to keep the automotive manufacturers in this country, and keeping some form of subsidies, by any rational measure, seems to be a no-brainer. And yet, the question still remains, are there enough people in Australia who want to buy locally made cars in sufficient numbers to keep the industry viable?

Component manufacturers need local contracts to stay afloat. Economies of scale will increase if, or should that be when, Holden ends local production. As well as the Commodore and the Cruze, it’s easy to predict Toyota would cease local manufacturing of its Aurion and Camry models should Holden follow Ford off-shore.

One thing is clear, we’re a long way from Devereux’s tweet from March 2012 responding to a Federal Government funding boost which said: “Today’s announcement secures Holden manufacturing in Australia for at least the next 10 years…out till 2022.”

For their part the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce unsurprisingly supports continuing government subsidies to help keep Holden making cars in Australia. The VACC issued a statement early this morning, which has been made available below.

[Source: SMH & ABC | Pic: GM Corp]

Continue reading “Holden boss: “No decision has been made””
Categories
GM Holden News

Hope our luck doesn’t end now

Holden VF Calais

Holden will close its local manufacturing operations in 2016 according to the ABC. The national broadcaster says senior government ministers have confirmed their belief that General Motors, Holden’s parent company, has already made the decision to stop making cars in Australia.

For their part Holden is not making any comment and says its unlikely to do so until at least next week after it has faced the Government’s Productivity Commission. One of the issues concerning the future of Holden is the uncertainty over Federal Government subsidies, which it claims it needs to keep local manufacturing viable.

The elephant in the room seems to be that local carmakers—Holden, Ford and Toyota—aren’t making cars that people want to buy. A criticism aimed more at Holden and Ford, rather than Toyota, which is comfortably the country’s best selling manufacturer.

Local car making peaked in 1970 when around 475,000 vehicles were made. By 1980 that number had dropped to 360,000. In recent years the industry last peaked in 2005 when almost 390,000 cars rolled off the line. By 2011 that number had plummeted by over 40% to just 224,000.

Outwardly at least, it would seem Holden and Ford have been too slow to react to consumer demand and no amount of government handouts can make the decision to build cars that people actually want to buy. Cracks in sales numbers might be papered over by models like the VF Commodore, but the overwhelming trend doesn’t lie. Buyers no longer want Commodores and Falcons. Couple that with the fact that no sustainable export markets can be found then it’s a fairly bleak outlook for Australia’s once iconic family sedans.

Ford has already announced it will stop making cars in Australia by 2016. We expect Holden will follow suit. And then it becomes a matter of time until Toyota does likewise.

Unless something unforeseen happens it will be a sad day when local car manufacturing ends in Australia. It’s a business sector that has, at times, been one of great pride for Australians. But not any more. Sales figures don’t lie.

[Source: ABC]

Categories
Holden News

The future of the Aussie ute appears rooted

Holden VF SSV ute

Australia moves one step closer to the loss of its automotive manufacturing sector with News Ltd reporting the Holden ute will face the axe by 2016. We already know that’s the year Ford Australia will stop making the Falcon and the long-term future of the Commodore is on shaky ground, too.

A decline in sales is the main reason for the cut, with traditional ute buyers now favouring models such as the Toyota HiLux made in Thailand where wages are a fraction of those paid in Australia.

But the real meat of the News Ltd article is this paragraph:

News Corp Australia has been told that if Holden continues manufacturing beyond 2016 it will adopt two new “global” cars, one of which is a large front-wheel-drive sedan that will not be made into a ute.

The demise of Australian icons the Commodore and Falcon is inevitable. We know that for a fact with the Falcon and it only appears a matter of timing for the Commodore, despite a boost in sales since the launch of the VF.

And we’re all responsible for their fate, by choosing to spend our motoring dollars elsewhere. In truth, neither car will probably be missed for any great length of time. It’s still a bit sad, all the same.

[Source: News Ltd | Pic: GM Corp | Thanks to Adam for the tip]