Toyota Can Why Can't Holden

8 Dec 11

Toyota commits to a future of manufacturing in Australia, whilst Holden warns the Gillard government that industry assistance is not enough to survive.

Despite natural disasters in both Japan and Thailand, along with industrial turmoil, impacting Toyota's Australian manufacturing operations this year, Toyota have declared that they are committed to manufacturing in this country. Toyota Australia's sales and marketing director, David Buttner says "we started building cars in this country in 1963 on this very site here at Port Melbourne and we intend to be building cars in this country for a long time in the future."

Toyota's Australian sales have reportedly fallen by around two per cent this year but its export business to the Middle East remains strong, with the Middle East being Toyota Australia's biggest customer.

But what of Holden, with Mike Devereux MD of GM Holden, in an appearance at the National Press Club, cautioning the Gillard Government that industry aid is insufficient for the automotive industry to survive in it's current form. This is not the first time that GM Holden has warned of peril and in comparison to Toyota, Holden has failed to secure and hang onto lucrative export markets, that it has held in consistently from time to time, both in the US and Middle East.

Furthermore Holden has repeatedly spoken about a lucrative Police Car contract with the US which has not eventuated, with some critics claiming that this is just spin in order to secure Government funding assistance.

That said, Mr Devereux in his address to the Press Club, made some valid points in that 18 per cent of cars sold in Australia are manufactured in Thailand and imported with minimal tariffs, also the Government's decision to remove $800 million from the Green Car Innovation Fund is a blow to the local industry, and we have previously highlighted how short sighted this decision was, in terms of securing long term investment into the industry and therefore jobs.

Critics would argue that the Government should not have to support the automotive industry, however the automotive industry is a large employer group, at both a first and second tier level. It also attracts millions in overseas investment into the country. Importantly, it is this Government support that continues to foster Australian engineering prowess and skills in the automotive industry, which Mr Devereux correctly points out "If Australia does want to be a knowledge economy and a diverse economy, and it wants to be more than a farm, mine or hotel, then we need to invest in our capability to design, engineer and build."

Australia remains only one of 15 countries in the world that can take a car from it's initial design phase, right through to manufacture.