The end of the line

Australia has dropped out of the 15 nations around the world with the broad-based skill set to design, build and market indigenous cars.

It was not unexpected, but still came sooner than expected, thanks to the global financial crisis (GFC), a strong Aussie dollar and changing consumer tastes. It has been a series of missteps by the private sector, unions and government since the Hawke Government's Button plan for the industry, introduced in 1984.

Since then, we've seen Nissan close its Clayton (Victoria) plant in 1992, followed by Mitsubishi shuttering its Tonsley Park (South Australia) plant in February 2008. Falling sales were held to blame for the end of production for the locally-developed Mitsubishi 380.

History also shows 2008 was the year the world was plunged into the economic abyss that was the GFC. While Australia was one of the few advanced economies to avoid technical recession, we faced a different problem as the strength of the local currency rendered our export products too expensive in those markets – the Middle East in particular – where the currency was anchored to the rapidly declining greenback (the U.S. dollar).

Ford Australia introduced its FG Falcon update that very same year. And this was the time it chose to end production of long-wheelbase Fairlane and wagon models.

Ford subsequently grappled with ways of pumping through sufficient volume to keep the Campbellfield (Victoria) assembly plant viable. It tore up plans to build the Focus small car in Australia as the strength of the local currency made the cost/benefit analysis for the concept look increasingly shaky.

By 2013, Ford Australia had lost $600 million, despite government subsidies. Ford announced in May of that year it would cease local production at both its Victorian plants – Campbellfield and the engine plant in Geelong.

Rumours began circulating the remaining two players – Holden and Toyota – could not sustainably manufacture cars in Australia without Ford to share the cost of parts supply. At the end of 2013, the newly elected Abbott government demanded Holden commit to on-going manufacture or announce it was also pulling up stakes. Holden MD Mike Devereaux obliged a day later.

Toyota waited until early 2014 to announce it would end local production of Camry and Aurion and close down its Altona (Victoria) plant.

In the years since, Ford released its FG X series of Falcon, which was mostly a cosmetic update of the FG series, Holden's VF Commodore was replaced by the Series II update, and Toyota introduced a major facelift of the Camry. Holden Cruze production at the Elizabeth (South Australia) plant concluded in October last year, as did Falcon and Territory production at Campbellfield.

By the start of 2017, Ford's plants were both closed, but the company continued to sell new Territory and Falcon models out of dealer stock throughout the year.

In January, Holden named October 20 for the final day of production at the Elizabeth plant. The company's export program was wound up in May, with the end of production for the Chevrolet SS and Caprice PPV.

A month later, Toyota revealed that timing of the local launch for the new-generation, fully imported Camry would coincide with the plant closure at Altona in October. Toyota's final day of production at Altona was October 3, two weeks short of Holden shutting up shop at Elizabeth.

Former Holden execs, including no less than Peter Hanenberger, revealed during the final weeks that the Holden plant had been a victim of poor decision making at the very highest levels of General Motors. A proposal to build an SUV - similar in nature to Ford's Territory - on the Zeta platform which underpinned the VE Commodore was not approved by GM and Hanenberger himself told motoring.com.au exclusively that Holden had shown the potential to be a prestige brand under the GM banner, but GM never exercised that option.

The end of local vehicle production is a moment for us to pause and reflect on what we've lost, but there remains a future for sophisticated automotive manufacturing in this country, as revealed by the on-going efforts of Nissan Casting Australia Plant, Carbon Revolution and Abcor.