[benbsb29]

Came across this news of Ford shutting down its plants in Australia following inability to compete with Asia.

Excerpt from article

Ford Motor Co. (F) will stop making cars in Australia, nine decades after founder Henry Ford first began building Model Ts in the country, as a surge in the currency undermines the local industry’s ability to compete with imports.

Ford Australia faces costs double those in Europe and four times those of its Asian divisions, local President Bob Graziano told reporters today. He announced the loss of 1,200 jobs from October 2016 at two plants in Melbourne and Geelong.

Australia’s three car makers have struggled as a 27 percent rise in the local dollar against the yen over the past year stoked sales of cheaper imported vehicles and cut exports. The closure of one threatens the viability of the whole industry and is a blow to Prime Minister Julia Gillard, whose Labor party is trailing in polls ahead of a Sept. 14 election.

Link to article :
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-0...r-reports.html

[karan561]

Only the manufacturing facilities are shutting down by October 2016.

Ford has announced that they are going to maintain aprox 200 dealerships for Australia

Source: http://www.worldcarfans.com/11305235...n-australia-by

[rohanjf]

Is Ford going to export cars like Fiesta and Ecosport from India? Ford could do that, and also launch more cars in India that are fit to be sold in Australia too.

[jacs]

Looks like a new opportunity for its factory in Chennai or a new plant in India? I pray

[Maky]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Came across this news of Ford shutting down its plants in Australia following inability to compete with Asia.

Excerpt from article


Link to article :
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-0...r-reports.html

Why have you attached a sad face smiley : o ? Is it because of people loosing their jobs? or them loosing their plant after decades of presence. I suppose so.
Sorry being a businessman I can become a bit emotionless & selfish : ).
This is very good for India and other Asian manufacturer centres. Hopefully India will become an export hub to these places if they can achieve quality standards set forth.

[Daewood]

Originally Posted by jacs

Looks like a new opportunity for its factory in Chennai or a new plant in India? I pray

The setting up of the new factory is already progress, at Gujarat. By the time it becomes operational in a year, i guess the Australian plant will be shut.

[Zed]

Ford produces some unique vehicles in Australia with engines, V6s and V8s, that they've stopped producing at other locations. In the near future many of these engines/vehicles will be phased out on account of emission legislation and platform standardization plans at Ford which was probably the proverbial nail in the coffin for its manufacturing operation down under. There are some pick up's currently exported from Fords Auto Alliance Thailand to the Australian market. Ford will continue to sell in Australia but with a revised manufacturing strategy.

[1100D]

So what happens to the fabulous Falcon range of rear drive vehicles Ford manufactures in Australia? Will the be manufactured in Asia?

Would not like to see the Falcon BOSS 335's die.

[SafeDrive]

Ford had consolidated it's design group in Australia. Friends of mine who were in India moved there. What happens to them? Are they also closing down and moving to other locations?

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by Maky

Why have you attached a sad face smiley : o ? Is it because of people loosing their jobs? or them loosing their plant after decades of presence. I suppose so.
Sorry being a businessman I can become a bit emotionless & selfish : ).
This is very good for India and other Asian manufacturer centres. Hopefully India will become an export hub to these places if they can achieve quality standards set forth.

From a business perspective, such moves are welcome. However, from the ground level these decisions do affect the brand perception in terms of their commitment to the local market, IMHO.

With global outsourcing and job cuts ruling the roost, such decisions are natural and to be expected.

Also, Ford has had a history of manufacturing in Australia since decades, so there are a lot of people who would be affected by this move, including suppliers.

[Zed]

Originally Posted by SafeDrive

Ford had consolidated it's design group in Australia. Friends of mine who were in India moved there. What happens to them? Are they also closing down and moving to other locations?

Not sure about the design group specifically, but the engineering team there will stay put. Until further notice I suppose. I am engaged in a project where a sub system for a global vehicle platform is handled by a team based in Geelong. Great guys to work with - I must add.

What's planned in Australia is pretty much in line with what Ford did in the UK where a lot of the manufacturing footprint moved to other locations like turkey (Ford Otosan) but core engineering continues to operate. For how long is anybody guess.

I do not expect that your friend will be packing his bags any time soon, well at least not on account of the new manufacturing strategy for the Australian market.

[wantarangerover]

Is this part of the 'One ford' strategy? I have always thought that ford has done well to market themselves in different regions differently, with different products to boot. While the US got their mustangs and F150s, Europe got their own Ford cars like the focus, fiesta et al. So in Europe ford is a maker of affordable practical fun cars, while in the US, it has a different image. Then comes Australia, which had its own fords, the falcon v8 topping the list.

It would be sad to see these 'different' Fords merging into one - but then it had to happen someday, for practical reasons. As pointed out, It wont be happening overnight. And yes, it is a glorious opportunity for India and other Asian countries.

[phamilyman]

Here is how Australian labor costs are affecting the market:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/bus...jects-at-risk/

Note the demands: $245/day construction allowance (1 AUD was ~1.03 USD), four week on, four week off etc. It would seem that Ford would have similarly challenging cost environment facing them as well.

[mints21]

A recent news item of Times of India has stated that Toyota Motors would stop making cars and engines in Australia by the end of year 2017.

Australia has already witnessed similar announcements by General Motors and Ford Motor last year.

This will result in massive job loss for people directly or indirectly involved in the automotive sector.

Huge set back for Australia which was once considered as a vibrant auto production base.

Link to the news item:

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defau...&ViewMode=HTML

[rohanjf]

If this trend follows, Australia will take cues from Indian rules and impose high taxes on CBUs and CKDs.

Which other big manufacturers build cars in Australia? I am guessing, only Volkswagen. Do Hyundai/Kia make cars in Australia, or just assemble them there?