Toyota to stop manufacturing in 2017

[VYBerlinaV8]

Holden should move operations to Sierra Leone. Im sure any of the locals would be up to and exceed the quality of service I recently have had from Holden.

They should outsource our local dealer to there. Might lift their standars a bit.

[macca_779]

Hilux ain't a cheap car though. Australia could of built a similar product for the same money but failed to

[Micks]

Ok what's the answer? Who's gunna be brave enough to peg goods/wages then??

[HSVREDSLED]

Ok what's the answer? Who's gunna be brave enough to peg goods/wages then??

Wasn't that answered last September?

[Micks]

Wasn't that answered last September?

That's not entirely what conservatives stand for mate!!

[whitels1ss]

[Plenty]

I think the point we're missing here is that Holden/Ford aren't solely in this position because of their labour costs. This has been heavily predicated by the fact that neither manufacturer was prepared to produce a product people now want. The money is in SUV's and Dual Cab style vehicles these days but both manufacturers just kept churning out the same old product they've been producing for the past 30+ years.

Video shops haven't shut down because staff costs are too high, they've shut down because their product is not wanted..... If Ford/Holden had bitten the bullet 4-5 years ago and replaced their Falcon/Commodore production with a Hilux and Rav4 equivalent, they'd probably still have a case for manufacturing in this country.

I personally think the unions are a complete waste of space, and there's no doubt in this case that they have improved the case to cease manufacturing in this country, but to me the key is that the product they're making is the automotive equivalent of the VHS tape (and is going to go the same way)

Last time i looked they were selling more Commodores than Hilux utes! That was not in the real rough times of end of the VE's though.

[C4B]

Last time i looked they were selling more Commodores than Hilux utes! That was not in the real rough times of end of the VE's though.

Well they're outselling them now..... And the scary part of that is that not every family would be a potential buyer of a ute.

And in terms of overall sales, Commodore wouldn't even come in the top 3 Small car sales (even excluding the Hilux etc.)

It's really not hard to see the reason why Commodore is getting the bullet.....

[planetdavo]

Well they're outselling them now..... And the scary part of that is that not every family would be a potential buyer of a ute.

And in terms of overall sales, Commodore wouldn't even come in the top 3 Small car sales (even excluding the Hilux etc.)

It's really not hard to see the reason why Commodore is getting the bullet.....

Yeah...but not for the reasons you have regularly said.
The top selling car last year (Corolla) sold less than two thirds the volumes that the top selling car 10 years ago sold (Commodore)- in a market that is selling 10% more metal. Combine our (now) massively fragmented market with the dollar led destruction of the Holden and Toyota export volumes and the sad decline in Aussie "pride" (where slagging off Australian made is now almost a national sport and buying an import is good), and the seeds were sown. Ever increasing fuel costs are a smaller factor.
Pretty easy to do the math- rather than ignoring the facts and just saying "they don't make what people want" or whatever some sections of the community keep saying. The volumes in this new world order (where Australia really is no different to anywhere else anymore) have simply dried up. It's not like Australia was ever going to be allowed to develop an SUV or a small car some people seem to think they had to develop to survive- when their overseas bosses already have catalogues full of them ready to drive onto a RO-RO- so the inevitable occurred...

[planetdavo]

I think the point we're missing here is that Holden/Ford aren't solely in this position because of their labour costs. This has been heavily predicated by the fact that neither manufacturer was prepared to produce a product people now want. The money is in SUV's and Dual Cab style vehicles these days but both manufacturers just kept churning out the same old product they've been producing for the past 30+ years.

Video shops haven't shut down because staff costs are too high, they've shut down because their product is not wanted..... If Ford/Holden had bitten the bullet 4-5 years ago and replaced their Falcon/Commodore production with a Hilux and Rav4 equivalent, they'd probably still have a case for manufacturing in this country.

I personally think the unions are a complete waste of space, and there's no doubt in this case that they have improved the case to cease manufacturing in this country, but to me the key is that the product they're making is the automotive equivalent of the VHS tape (and is going to go the same way)

If Commodore was made in a third world country where employees pretty much get paid in coconuts and several hundred thousand cheaply made cars were sent around the world to countries that have faintly ridiculous "free trade agreements" in a very much unequal world, does anyone really believe Commodore's time would be up...?
"Large cars" time is NOT up. After all, last time I looked, there were still PLENTY on sale around the world...

[C4B]

Yeah...but not for the reasons you have regularly said.
The top selling car last year (Corolla) sold less than two thirds the volumes that the top selling car 10 years ago sold (Commodore)- in a market that is selling 10% more metal. Combine our (now) massively fragmented market with the dollar led destruction of the Holden and Toyota export volumes and the sad decline in Aussie "pride" (where slagging off Australian made is now almost a national sport and buying an import is good), and the seeds were sown. Ever increasing fuel costs are a smaller factor.
Pretty easy to do the math- rather than ignoring the facts and just saying "they don't make what people want" or whatever some sections of the community keep saying. The volumes in this new world order (where Australia really is no different to anywhere else anymore) have simply dried up. It's not like Australia was ever going to be allowed to develop an SUV or a small car some people seem to think they had to develop to survive- when their overseas bosses already have catalogues full of them ready to drive onto a RO-RO- so the inevitable occurred...

The broken record about slagging off our locally made cars..... Turn the record over, or better still, go and drive a Mazda or Toyota around the same pricepoint as a Commodore.

One of the members here just traded his VE Clubsport in on a new Hilux SR5 last week and his comment was he didn't realise the difference in the build quality between the two cars until he got the new Toyota.

[sjhugh]

Yeah...but not for the reasons you have regularly said.
The top selling car last year (Corolla) sold less than two thirds the volumes that the top selling car 10 years ago sold (Commodore)- in a market that is selling 10% more metal. Combine our (now) massively fragmented market with the dollar led destruction of the Holden and Toyota export volumes and the sad decline in Aussie "pride" (where slagging off Australian made is now almost a national sport and buying an import is good), and the seeds were sown. Ever increasing fuel costs are a smaller factor.
Pretty easy to do the math- rather than ignoring the facts and just saying "they don't make what people want" or whatever some sections of the community keep saying. The volumes in this new world order (where Australia really is no different to anywhere else anymore) have simply dried up. It's not like Australia was ever going to be allowed to develop an SUV or a small car some people seem to think they had to develop to survive- when their overseas bosses already have catalogues full of them ready to drive onto a RO-RO- so the inevitable occurred...

If Commodore was made in a third world country where employees pretty much get paid in coconuts and several hundred thousand cheaply made cars were sent around the world to countries that have faintly ridiculous "free trade agreements" in a very much unequal world, does anyone really believe Commodore's time would be up...?
"Large cars" time is NOT up. After all, last time I looked, there were still PLENTY on sale around the world...

I said years ago if Holden didn’t keep the Commodore up to spec with what was being offered by the imports they were asking for it.

How did I know?

Because I saw my friends, my work colleagues, my family and my neighbours who were once core local supporters looking away and purchasing a host of various makes and models because they offered more kit for their hard earned money.

The more they bought, the wider the variety became.

Apart from the ever faithful V8 brigade the catch up VF came to market way to late, the horse bolted years ago.

Local manufacturing as a serious profit spinner has been on the noise for years as far as the HO’s of GM, Ford & Toyota were concerned.

It only took one of the remaining three to push the stop button to open the door for the others to do the same.

And the powers that be in Japan and the USA would smiling now the charade is over.


.

[Pickles]

Well, our car manufacturing is finished now, we all know that.
But, a couple of things happened during the last few years, that certainly have not helped. I've heard that a good export program was one of the attributes necessary for survival, so with that in mind, and firstly with Ford in mind, Why wasn't the Territory ever exported? I've never owned one, but several of my friends have, and they've not had a bad word to say about them. There really isn't anything like them in the world, & I can't see why Territory wouldn't have been a good seller anywhere? Likewise with Holden, well they did sell a few GTOs, but from what I've read, it was only a half hearted sales push in the U.S., & the same with the VF (SS in the States)....it's a great car, all the US motor writers love it, but ya don't hear or see much PR from GM,....again not much of an effort?
I've no idea about car "politics", but I've read that in some cases, the manufacturers, are not really interested in some models being sold in some export markets, and I think this is the case in these instances. They're not, never were , particularly interested in these models selling say in the US, as it would eat into their own sales etc etc, & they make these decisions, even if they are aware that it is going to very adversely affect the Australian company. And when they made these decisions not to promote say SS & Territory, I reckon that they already knew that "the writing was on the wall" for their Aussie companies.
Just my thoughts, Pickles.

[Swordie]

Well, our car manufacturing is finished now, we all know that.
But, a couple of things happened during the last few years, that certainly have not helped. I've heard that a good export program was one of the attributes necessary for survival, so with that in mind, and firstly with Ford in mind, Why wasn't the Territory ever exported? I've never owned one, but several of my friends have, and they've not had a bad word to say about them. There really isn't anything like them in the world, & I can't see why Territory wouldn't have been a good seller anywhere? Likewise with Holden, well they did sell a few GTOs, but from what I've read, it was only a half hearted sales push in the U.S., & the same with the VF (SS in the States)....it's a great car, all the US motor writers love it, but ya don't hear or see much PR from GM,....again not much of an effort?
I've no idea about car "politics", but I've read that in some cases, the manufacturers, are not really interested in some models being sold in some export markets, and I think this is the case in these instances. They're not, never were , particularly interested in these models selling say in the US, as it would eat into their own sales etc etc, & they make these decisions, even if they are aware that it is going to very adversely affect the Australian company. And when they made these decisions not to promote say SS & Territory, I reckon that they already knew that "the writing was on the wall" for their Aussie companies.
Just my thoughts, Pickles.

I thought Ford had really good product to export. Eg Territory. It would of probably conflicted with local model in U.S.

[C4B]

I thought Ford had really good product to export. Eg Territory. It would of probably conflicted with local model in U.S.

I almost get the feeling that the Territory (from a local perspective at least) was a bit ahead of its time, and by the time the SUV bonanza started the Territory was seen to be getting a bit long in the tooth.