Looks like Ford will stop manufacturing vehicles in Australia. They have been there since 1925. My guess, any Fords will be imported, just like just about all the other cars in the country. Probably also means no more Falcon there.

http://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/fo...tralia-150635/

 

Wow. I had not heard.

I'm shocked and a little bummed out.

I was in Australia in '91, and Aussie manufactured Fords were all over the place. Drove a six cylinder Falcon around and it was a decent mix of reliability, sturdiness, luxury and performance.

Around that time, they were even exporting cars to the USA (the two seat version of the Mercury Capri).

Fords and Holdens (GM) were everywhere, and the imports were mainly Toyota and Nissan pickups.

Pretty big change in 20 years.

 

"Ford Motor Company calls it quits in Australia". Deceptive headline.

Like was stated in the article, the strengthening of the Australian dollar is mostly to blame.

 

Yes it was slightly deceptive, but it does mean that those in Australia that liked the Falcon, Falcon Ute, and Territory are now out of luck. And they did call it quits as far as manufacturing there.
Myself, I wish the Falcon Ute was here. Kind of like the Ranchero look.

 

Now all those Holden blokes think they've won.. Quite sad if you ask me.

 

Ford has REALLY ramped up production in India. I wonder if they plan to built cars and trucks in India and import them into Australia?

 

Not sure about India, but the article says they will be imported from other countries, including Thailand.

It's been a long time, but when I was there, cars were quite expensive and all imported cars had a very high tariff. That kept the competition down and helped Holden and Ford survive.

IIRC, they were also very strict on the right hand drive layout. No exceptions for imports.

I did a little google search, and it appears that tariffs on imported cars were reduced substantially in 2009.

That was probably a big shot in the arm for the imports, at the expense of Australian made cars.

Looks like by last year, employment at Australian Ford was down to 1,200.

I guess mass produced cars from Asia can way undercut the low production Ozzie factories on cost, especially since the high tariffs were reduced.