Ford has announced that it will end all production in Australia in 2016, closing two plants which employ 1200 people.
It has blamed the strength of the Australian dollar, high business costs, mounting losses and a declining market. The president of Ford Australia, Bob Graziano, said: "Our costs are double that of Europe and nearly four times Ford in Asia."
The manufacturer will shut its Geelong-based engine plant and its vehicle production facility in Broadmeadows, both of which are in the state of Victoria. Dealership and development facilities will remain open, however, and Ford will become an import-only brand. Among the vehicles produced at Broadmeadows are the Fiesta and the Falcon.
Ford has been active in Australia since 1925; last year it built approximately 37,000 vehicles but suffered a loss of £93m. Graziano stated that Ford had lost, in total, £386.5m in Australia over the past five years. The strong Australian dollar has made it difficult for Ford to sell its products at a competitive price against foreign rivals.
It is expected that Ford will continue to participate in the Australian V8 Supercars series until at least 2016, despite it withdrawing its local manufacturing facilities.
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That Line!
"Buy American- Buy Ford"
I love that line mate.
Buy American- Buy Ford
One would imagine that this could cost Ford further sales volume in Australia. But then the lack of domestic production hasn’t stopped Ford from achieving 2 of the top 3 selling cars here in the UK!
Personally I would rather buy a Nissan or Toyota made domestically than buy a Ford or Vauxhall made elsewhere.
With the loss of only 1200 jobs, domestic production of Fords in Australia must have been very low already
Straightforward numbers
Ford lost £2,513 per car last year in Australian manufacturing.
At 37,000 cars produced, each of 1,200 employees made 30.83 cars per annum or costing Ford £77,500 per annum in losses per employee on top of wage costs.
Any accountant will say shut it down whether the numbers are Aus $ US $ or £ Sterling as shown in the article.
devil's advocate wrote: Any
Without looking at why costs are so high or why sales so low - yep, that's the Ford way.
Falcon successor
Perhaps this will motivate Ford to build right hand drive versions of its Taurus successor for some of the 76 countries, territories and dependencies that drive on the left