Australia needs and deserves a car industry.. not an industry only propped up by Government dollars, but a fully protected industry that encourages manufacturing here in Australia, along with dealerships that service the industry.
A thriving car industry provides thousands of jobs, not just in the manufacture of the vehicle but the many hundreds of associated industries like parts, replacement parts, accessories, dealerships, servicing not to mention the millions of industries that then service the workers in the auto industry.
In the 80’s, Australia provided the car industry protection by placing strict conditions on car makers. The Government basically supported the four main manufacturers (Holden, Ford, Toyota and Mitsubishi) here in Australia and taxing the rest out of Australia. If all the maker did was import the vehicle, then buyers paid a high premium for the priviledge of wanting to drive a car that did not support the local industry.
Holden to Slash 500 Jobs
As reported in the media | Tuesday 9th April 2013.
Holden will axe 100 jobs from its Melbourne product development facility as the company struggles to cope witha profound ‘‘ structural shift’ ’ triggered by the high dollar and fierce competition from foreign rivals.
Raising fresh doubts about the viability of the Australian car industry, Holden also announced it will cut 400 jobs from its Elizabeth plant in South Australia– the factory that has built everything from Kingswoods and Commodores to Toranas and Vectras – as production drops from 400 to 335 cars a day.
The job losses, to be voluntary, come five months after the company laid off 170 workers for similar reasons. Sales of locally made Holdens have dropped by more than a third since the late 1990s, and once lucrative export markets that thrived on a lower exchange rate have dried to a trickle.