Carr to Detroit to rescue Aus Car Industry

[Blue Blooded]

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news...y/2411612.aspx



Carr off to Detroit to rescue our car industry

BY JOSHUA DOWLING

06 Jan, 2012 01:00 AM


A Federal Government minister has been despatched to Detroit in a desperate bid to rescue the Australian car industry.

Kim Carr's mission to the US has become all the more pressing since sales figures confirmed the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon had taken their biggest hit in more than half a century.


The Industry Minister is expected to meet the top executives from General Motors and Ford next Monday, on the eve of the Detroit Motor Show.


While General Motors-Holden has mapped out its plans - building its Cruze small car alongside the Commodore, as well as trying to revive export deals to the US - its counterpart Ford has remained tight-lipped.


Ford Australia was scheduled to build a small car from this year but those plans were scrapped in 2009 after the company said it could not profitably manufacture such a vehicle at its Broadmeadows factory.


Ford Australia is in a particular bind because factories in Thailand have, with local government support, won contracts to build Ford's Focus small car, a new small sports utility vehicle, and the Ranger four-wheel drive utility.


A new Ford hatch unveiled this week will probably be made in India, even though it was designed and engineered in Australia.


With the Ford vehicles being built in Thailand representing the three largest categories in Australia, Broadmeadows has been forced to find a business case to produce a medium or large car - sales of which are declining worldwide.


''I am confident that we can, despite the challenges - and they are profound - work our way through these issues,'' Mr Carr said.


He was going to Detroit to ''restate the Australian Government's commitment to the automotive industry. We want to attract new investment... and ensure we keep our position in the global industry.''

[Gobes32]

If anyone can do it Senator Carr can, the best man for the job it would seem.

[Blue Blooded]

At least it seems the Government is doing something.

I just hope it isn't a case of too little too late.

[Joe5619]

Good news... Hopefully they can get Ford (& Holden) to stay here.

I thought Carr was dropped from the portfolio??

[Gobes32]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

I thought Carr was dropped from the portfolio??

He was, it would appear he still cares enough to keep going with the job he was doing previously. Or he wants a tax payer holiday, we will never know.

[BroadyFord]

Wow. This is a very desperate situation by the looks of things.

What happens if there's a change of government next year though?

[mik]

Originally Posted by BroadyFord

Wow. This is a very desperate situation by the looks of things.

What happens if there's a change of government next year though?

many will celebrate

[Blue Blooded]

Originally Posted by mik

many will celebrate

Me being one of them

[MethodX]

Originally Posted by Blue Blooded

Me being one of them

Not me.
More tariffs needed. Or tax breaks. It isnt a level playing field.

[bungarra]

Just follow the Koreans way of doing things. Put a "health tax" on imported goods, prevents the issue with tarriff restrictions.

[Uncle Niceguy]

if they want the manufacturing industry to stay as a whole they need the aussie dollar to fall back to between 65-80 cents which unfortunately i don't see happening any time soon.

[blownv8au]

What on earth is he going to achive by going over that a phone call or video link couldn't do. another bloody tax payer funded holiday. might aswell go to the motor show to eh.

[cs123]

Originally Posted by blownv8au

What on earth is he going to achive by going over that a phone call or video link couldn't do. another bloody tax payer funded holiday. might aswell go to the motor show to eh.

You accomplish a lot more meeting someone in person than over a phone line.

$20K well spent IMO

[blownv8au]

Originally Posted by cs123

You accomplish a lot more meeting someone in person than over a phone line.

$20K well spent IMO

Yeah, and what is that everyone thinks he can accomplish?. I would hazard a guess that the money that gm and ford could save building cars overseas would be more than the aussie gov could offer them to keep building here. if not in the short term definetly over the long term imo. each to their own, i think its a waste of money. we are floging a dead horse with australian manufactoring.

[bobthebilda]

Probably a bit danagerous to send over a guy who with all the resources at his fingertips, is still under some fanciful illusion that the australian car industry supports 60,000 people to make 220,000 cars a year. I reckon with his ability to decipher the facts, we will learn in a few days time that he has landed in Dhaka instead of Detroit.

As a nation, we would probably be better off if he was trying to convince the heads of Mazda or Hyundai to do something over here.

[350125GO]

Originally Posted by blownv8au

Yeah, and what is that everyone thinks he can accomplish?. I would hazard a guess that the money that gm and ford could save building cars overseas would be more than the aussie gov could offer them to keep building here. if not in the short term definetly over the long term imo. each to their own, i think its a waste of money. we are floging a dead horse with australian manufactoring.

Yeah, lets just dig **** out of the ground and send it overseas. When that runs out, what are we left with, a service based economy

[blownv8au]

Originally Posted by 350125GO

Yeah, lets just dig **** out of the ground and send it overseas. When that runs out, what are we left with, a service based economy

What can't read the writing on the wall. i don't agree with it but thats where its headed till the cheaper countrys catch up. businesses are out to make money and the more they make the happier the shareholders are thats fact. and if they can make a product somewhere else cheaper and get the same for it they will, pretty simple stuff really. no one has offered up an opinion on what they think it is that carr can offer gm and ford hey? like said tax payer funded holiday.

[Fordman1]

Originally Posted by 350125GO

Yeah, lets just dig **** out of the ground and send it overseas. When that runs out, what are we left with, a service based economy

Then we can be just like Greece

[Fordman1]

Originally Posted by 350125GO

Yeah, lets just dig **** out of the ground and send it overseas. When that runs out, what are we left with, a service based economy

Then we can be just like Greece

[bobthebilda]

=350125GO]Yeah, lets just dig **** out of the ground and send it overseas. When that runs out, what are we left with, a service based economy

In the last 1/2 year, I have lived around places that make things (cars), and am currently living in a place that digs #$%^ out of the ground. The guys currently making things would be drooling to be earning what the guys who dig things out ground are earning. And I am pretty confident that once australia runs out of coal and iron ore etc, not many countries will be building cars anyhow.

And for the record, places like Japan, USA, Italy and spain build alot more cars than Australia, but no one really wants their economies or budgetary problems.

[Road_Warrior]

He is still Industry Minister, the Science & Innovation and I think Resources portfolio was removed from his care.

[aussie muscle]

so his plan is to convince GM And Ford to invest in their own companies?

[79FordEsky]

Make a ban on Asian cars coming to Australia then in you want to save the industry and improve funding to the industry to help them convice australians to buy cars that are "Made in Australia".

[Pepscobra]

I love the Falcon (and even Commodore... to a lesser (much lesser) extent) and dont want to see them disappear, but what good is 'rescuing' something that may no longer be viable??

Its a global market people. Australia chose this road long ago. The government (using tax payers money mind you) cant just keep coming to the rescue everytime a large company looks like getting in trouble. Its called competition. No point to keep making something that people dont want.

The automakers just need to come up with products that the market wants.

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by Pepscobra

I love the Falcon (and even Commodore... to a lesser (much lesser) extent) and dont want to see them disappear, but what good is 'rescuing' something that may no longer be viable??

Its a global market people. Australia chose this road long ago. The government (using tax payers money mind you) cant just keep coming to the rescue everytime a large company looks like getting in trouble. Its called competition. No point to keep making something that people dont want.

The automakers just need to come up with products that the market wants.

Australia is a very unique market. FoA and GMH just need one product they can be responsible for in their respective empire, and sell it to multiple markets, or at least R&D the car here, and manufacture here for locality.

Originally Posted by blownv8au

What on earth is he going to achive by going over that a phone call or video link couldn't do. another bloody tax payer funded holiday. might aswell go to the motor show to eh.

By meeting in person it's shows just how important it is the executives how committed we are to them. Those exec's get there ego's stroked by a 'Government Official', and a "give us a go mate". And things look better. Things come out in face to face that don't in a letter or phone call.

Originally Posted by Barraxr8

Then we can be just like Greece

Yey. Then we can ask Germany for heaps of cash. Or start building their cars...

[Jason[98.EL]]

Originally Posted by Buntz93ED

By meeting in person it's shows just how important it is the executives how committed we are to them. Those exec's get there ego's stroked by a 'Government Official', and a "give us a go mate". And things look better. Things come out in face to face that don't in a letter or phone call.

well I can be of testament to that side of it all

the company I work for closed in 2008 and re opened in 2010 to do 8 ton of felt for 6 -12 months

our mayor of Geelong went over to the states and went to our head office and with putting 100g of funding up to them we are now open for a min of 5 yrs with production being upped to 22 ton by april this yr and really likely that we could be open for another 5 yrs after that

I know it is only 100g but it has put close to 50 people in 5 yrs work with prob another 5 yrs after

this is why the meet in person is way better than just a phone call

Jason

[white lightning]

why can't Ford Aus base the Falcon on the latest Jag?? just not quite as decadent

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by white lightning

why can't Ford Aus base the Falcon on the latest Jag?? just not quite as decadent

What, like DEW98?

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by white lightning

why can't Ford Aus base the Falcon on the latest Jag?? just not quite as decadent

Why?
Ford don't own Jaguar anymore.

[dogfish]

For a start Remove the GST off of Fuel so we don't have to pay more TAX for every cent it climbs.
Then Remove all the other Taxes off of Fuel as well and Australians May want to BUY big cars again.
Greedy Bloody Government.