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NEWS
Toyota marks another million
One million Australian-made Toyotas now reside in the Middle EastToyota became Australia’s first car-maker to notch up one million vehicle exports in August 2012 and now it has announced the export of its millionth vehicle to the Middle East alone.
The Japanese giant has supplied Camry and Aurion sedans to the Gulf region for 17 years – since 1996 – and, at a time when the new federal government has indicated exports will be essential for any future financial assistance, exports continue to account for about 70 per cent of Toyota Australia's local production.
Toyota Australia exports peaked before the GFC in 2008 at 97,153 vehicles, and last year declined to 72,899, of which around 97 per cent were shipped to the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Toyota also exports four-cylinder petrol and hybrid engines to Thailand and Malaysia.
Like GM Holden, Toyota Australia also exports vehicles to New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands.
However, Toyota’s Australian subsidiary continues to surge ahead of Holden in terms of exports, with a total of about 1.03 million exports between 1986 and September 2013 easily eclipsing Holden’s tally of around 907,000 between 1954 and 2012.
While Ford languishes in third with about half that number since 1962, Toyota passed the one million export milestone in about half the time it took Holden to reach 900,000. Holden’s best export year was 2005, when it shipped about 60,500 cars to the Middle East and US.
While Toyota Australia’s exports to the Middle East have declined, Holden’s have collapsed.
Of the 84,000-odd cars it produced locally last year, Holden exported just 14,500 or around 17 per cent. And just as the Adelaide car-maker prepares to negotiate for further assistance from the federal government, a US report has revealed that GM expects to sell less than 2000 units of the Australian-made Chevrolet SS in North America annually.
Holden has just shipped its first batch of Commodore-based Chevrolets to the US but will reportedly export only about 900 examples this year, in addition to similar numbers of the Caprice-based Chevrolet police car.
Since no single model sold in Australia can sustain any of the local plants operated by Toyota, Holden or Ford, which will close its factory doors in 2016, significant export programs are now seen as vital to securing ongoing government support for Australian car-makers.
Toyota Australia Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Dave Buttner said the milestone was testament to the quality of vehicles built at Altona, but stopped short of criticising the Abbott government’s $500 million cut in funding for the automotive industry.
“Exports play a vital part in our balanced business model and we will do everything we can to continue to support our export customers. We hope that we can continue to supply vehicles to this very important export market for many more years to come,” he said.
Toyota said in August it will invest $123 million in its local manufacturing operations – in addition to $23.6 million in federal funding and unspecified state capital – to produce a facelifted Camry in 2015.
However, last year it sacked 350 workers – more than 10 per cent of its Altona workforce – citing “severe operating conditions resulting in unsustainable financial returns due to factors including the strong Australian currency, reduced cost competitiveness and volume decline, especially in export markets.”
Holden, meantime, continues to work on a business case to build next-generation Cruze and Commodore models in Adelaide from 2015 and 2016 respectively, after labelling the $275 million promised by state and federal governments in March 2012 as insufficient.
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Written byMarton Pettendy
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