FoMoCo as a whole, has made huge losses,so has GM (infact GM has made a record loss for a vehicle manufacturer), Australia's car market is tiny on a global scale. GM has invested 1 billion dollar's on the ve, there will be a certain profit margin that is forecast,planned ,needed to be met, in return for this investment. Same for Ford, same as Toyota. To cut cost's,raise profit's,and make it easier to achieve those profit margin's,GMH has overlooked Australian manufacturer's, and sourced part's from overseas, mainly China.( If anyone reading this ,went to the automotive trade show at the Melbourne exhibition centre last year, would have seen all the car component manufacturer's from China,Tiawan,Indonesia,Korea etc,I was gobsmacked,Aus manufacturing can't compete with them ) It is getting harder for car manufacturer's in this country to get a return on their investment. Toyota's president recently questioned the viability of Aus manufacturing. Lower tarriff's has mean't more import's into the country. Think back 10-15 year's ago, there was not the amount of 4wd, suv,hyundai (which you could'nt even say back then, but is now a household name) kia,subaru etc that there is now on the road. The aussie dollar is high and look's to stay that way (commodity prices), which mean's higher labour cost's,material's cost's electricity cost's,etc, so it cost's more to manufacture in Australia. Why is Ford closing it's engine plant in Geelong? It is simply not viable anymore to invest money in a locally built engine (I bet there iron foundry has been running at a loss for year's, too expensive to produce iron,heat it to 1500#,compared to aluminium 500#, material cost's etc ) Australia's car manufacturing will slowly die (goverment cut's tarriff's with one hand, but hand's out grant's with the other ?) give it 10-15 year's, there will be no car industry in Aus.
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01-04-2008, 11:12 AM
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