Mexican Media Brands
Australian Auto Industry Near Extinction as Toyota Closes Plant
Toyota Motor Corp. shut down its assembly plant in Melbourne, Australia, today, bringing the country’s auto industry another step closer to extinction.
Share
Toyota Motor Corp. shut down its assembly plant in Melbourne, Australia, today, bringing the country’s auto industry another step closer to extinction.
The only other functioning car factory in Australia, General Motors Co.’s Holden facility in Adelaide, will stop operations on Oct. 23. The two closures are eliminating 5,700 direct jobs thousands more in auto-related industries.
Ford shuttered its assembly plant and engine factor outside Melbourne last October after losing $600 million there over the previous five years.
The Associated Press says a study by the University of Adelaide estimates the evaporation of Australia’s auto industry represents a loss of as many as 200,000 jobs.
The collapse began decades ago as competition grew from lower-cost cars imported from Japan and South Korea. Australia’s relatively high costs and low productivity made local production less and less sustainable in spite of repeated rounds of government aid.
Those factors, coupled with unfavorable exchange rates, also hurt efforts to build export sales. Production peaked at 475,000 units in 1970 but slid to only 212,00 in 2012.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Jeeps Modified for Moab
On Easter morning in Moab, Utah, when the population of that exceedingly-hard-to-get-to town in one of the most beautiful settings on Earth has more than doubled, some people won’t be hunting for Easter eggs, but will be trying to get a good look at one of the vehicles six that Jeep has prepared for real-life, fast-feedback from the assembled at the annual Easter Jeep Safari.
-
on lots of electric trucks. . .Grand Highlander. . .atomically analyzing additive. . .geometric designs. . .Dodge Hornet. . .
EVs slowdown. . .Ram’s latest in electricity. . .the Grand Highlander is. . .additive at the atomic level. . .advanced—and retro—designs. . .the Dodge Hornet. . .Rimac in reverse. . .
-
On Automotive: An All Electric Edition
A look at electric vehicle-related developments, from new products to recycling old batteries.
